Undecaprenyl pyrophosphate involvement in susceptibility of Bacillus subtilis to rare earth elements.
The rare earth element scandium has weak antibacterial potency. We identified a mutation responsible for a scandium-resistant phenotype in Bacillus subtilis. This mutation was found within the uppS gene, which encodes undecaprenyl pyrophosphate synthase, and designated uppS86 (for the Thr-to-Ile amino acid substitution at residue 86 of undecaprenyl pyrophosphate synthase).  The uppS86 mutation also gave rise to increased resistance to bacitracin, which prevents cell wall synthesis by inhibiting the dephosphorylation of undecaprenyl pyrophosphate, in addition to enhanced amylase production. Conversely, overexpression of the wild-type uppS gene resulted in increased susceptibilities to both scandium and bacitracin. Moreover, the mutant lacking undecaprenyl pyrophosphate phosphatase (BcrC) showed increased susceptibility to all rare earth elements tested. These results suggest that the accumulation of undecaprenyl pyrophosphate renders cells more susceptible to rare earth elements. The availability of undecaprenyl pyrophosphate may be an important determinant for susceptibility to rare earth elements, such as scandium.
National Food Research Institute-National Agriculture Research Organization, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan. tina2672@affrc.go.jp
Takashi
T
Inaoka
Kozo
K
Ochi
D019883:Alkyl and Aryl Transferases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001412:Bacillus subtilis / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism*; D001414:Bacitracin / Q000494:pharmacology; D024881:Drug Resistance, Bacterial; D018628:Gene Dosage; D015870:Gene Expression; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D050505:Mutant Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D020125:Mutation, Missense; D011106:Polyisoprenyl Phosphates / Q000378:metabolism*; D012538:Scandium / Q000494:pharmacology*
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D050505:Mutant Proteins; D011106:Polyisoprenyl Phosphates; D001414:Bacitracin; C088139:undecaprenyl pyrophosphate; D019883:Alkyl and Aryl Transferases; C023266:undecaprenyl pyrophosphate synthetase; D012538:Scandium