Red light activates the sigmaB-mediated general stress response of Bacillus subtilis via the energy branch of the upstream signaling cascade.
The sigma(B)-dependent general stress response in the common soil bacterium Bacillus subtilis can be elicited by a range of stress factors, such as starvation or an ethanol, salt, or heat shock, via a complex upstream signaling cascade. Additionally, sigma(B) can be activated by blue light via the phototropin homologue YtvA, a component of the environmental branch of the signaling cascade. Here we use a reporter-gene fusion to show that sigma(B) can also be activated by red light via the energy branch of its upstream signaling cascade. Deletion mutagenesis and homologous overproduction experiments indicate that the RsbP protein (composed of an N-terminal Per-ARNT-Sim [PAS] domain and a C-terminal PP2C-type phosphatase domain) is involved in the red light response. This second light input pathway functions complementarily to YtvA; it shows broader spectral sensitivity but requires higher light intensities. These results are confirmed by transcriptome analyses, which show that both light effects result in upregulation of the sigma(B) regulon, with minimal activation of other responses.
Avila-Pérez
Marcela
M
Laboratory for Microbiology, Swammerdam Institute for Life Sciences, University of Amsterdam, Nieuwe Achtergracht 166, 1018 WV Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
van der Steen
Jeroen B
JB
Kort
Remco
R
Hellingwerf
Klaas J
KJ
D001412:Bacillus subtilis / Q000235:genetics / Q000528:radiation effects*; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D015964:Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics / Q000528:radiation effects*; D008027:Light; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis; D012808:Sigma Factor / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000235:genetics / Q000528:radiation effects*
D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D012808:Sigma Factor