Lessons from the modular organization of the transcriptional regulatory network of Bacillus subtilis.
BACKGROUND
The regulation of gene expression at the transcriptional level is a fundamental process in prokaryotes. Among the different kind of mechanisms modulating gene transcription, the one based on DNA binding transcription factors, is the most extensively studied and the results, for a great number of model organisms, have been compiled making it possible the in silico construction of their corresponding transcriptional regulatory networks and the analysis of the biological relationships of the components of these intricate networks, that allows to elucidate the significant aspects of their organization and evolution.


RESULTS
We present a thorough review of each regulatory element that constitutes the transcriptional regulatory network of Bacillus subtilis. For facilitating the discussion, we organized the network in topological modules. Our study highlight the importance of σ factors, some of them acting as master regulators which characterize modules by inter- or intra-connecting them and play a key role in the cascades that define relevant cellular processes in this organism. We discussed that some particular functions were distributed in more than one module and that some modules contained more than one related function. We confirm that the presence of paralogous proteins confers advantages to B. subtilis to adapt and select strategies to successfully face the extreme and changing environmental conditions in which it lives.


CONCLUSIONS
The intricate organization is the product of a non-random network evolution that primarily follows a hierarchical organization based on the presence of transcription and σ factor, which is reflected in the connections that exist within and between modules.
Departamentos de Microbiología Molecular, Instituto de Biotecnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Apdo, Postal 510-3, Cuernavaca, Morelos 62250, México. rmaria@ibt.unam.mx.
Julio A
JA
Freyre-González
Alejandra M
AM
Manjarrez-Casas
Enrique
E
Merino
Mario
M
Martinez-Nuñez
Ernesto
E
Perez-Rueda
Rosa-María
RM
Gutiérrez-Ríos
D001412:Bacillus subtilis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D019295:Computational Biology; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D053263:Gene Regulatory Networks; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000378:metabolism; D014158:Transcription, Genetic
D014157:Transcription Factors