title: Global impact of protein arginine phosphorylation on the physiology of Bacillus subtilis.
abstract: Reversible protein phosphorylation is an important and ubiquitous protein modification in all living cells. Here we report that protein phosphorylation on arginine residues plays a physiologically significant role. We detected 121 arginine phosphorylation sites in 87 proteins in the gram-positive model organism Bacillus subtilis in vivo. Moreover, we provide evidence that protein arginine phosphorylation has a functional role and is involved in the regulation of many critical cellular processes, such as protein degradation, motility, competence, and stringent and stress responses. Our results suggest that in B. subtilis the combined activity of a protein arginine kinase and phosphatase allows a rapid and reversible regulation of protein activity and that protein arginine phosphorylation can play a physiologically important and regulatory role in bacteria.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Microbiology, Ernst-Moritz-Arndt-University Greifswald, D-17487 Greifswald, Germany.
authors.forename: Alexander K W
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Elsholz
authors.forename: Kürsad
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Turgay
authors.forename: Stephan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Michalik
authors.forename: Bernd
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Hessling
authors.forename: Katrin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Gronau
authors.forename: Dan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Oertel
authors.forename: Ulrike
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Mäder
authors.forename: Jörg
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bernhardt
authors.forename: Dörte
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Becher
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hecker
authors.forename: Ulf
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Gerth
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001120:Arginine / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D001412:Bacillus subtilis / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000502:physiology*; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D001665:Binding Sites / Q000235:genetics; D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D015964:Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial; D006360:Heat-Shock Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D013058:Mass Spectrometry; D010748:Phosphopeptides / Q000378:metabolism; D010766:Phosphorylation / Q000502:physiology; D011494:Protein Kinases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D059748:Proteolysis
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; C087481:ClpC protein, Bacteria; D006360:Heat-Shock Proteins; D010748:Phosphopeptides; D001120:Arginine; D011494:Protein Kinases; C423322:McsB protein, Bacillus subtilis