title: Localization and expression of the Bacillus subtilis DL-endopeptidase LytF are influenced by mutations in LTA synthases and glycolipid anchor synthetic enzymes.
abstract: Bacillus subtilis LytF plays a principal role in cell separation through its localization at the septa and poles on the vegetative cell surface. In this study, we found that a mutation in a major lipoteichoic acid (LTA) synthase gene--ltaS--results in a considerable reduction in the σ(D)-dependent transcription of lytF. The lytF transcription was also reduced in mutants that affected glycolipid anchor biosynthesis. Immunofluorescence microscopy revealed that both the numbers of cells expressing LytF and the LytF foci in these mutants were decreased. In addition, the transcriptional activity of lytF was almost abolished in the double (ltaS yfnI), triple (ltaS yfnI yqgS), and quadruple (ltaS yfnI yqgS yvgJ) mutants during vegetative growth. Cell separation defects in these mutants were partially restored with artificial expression of LytF. Interestingly, when lytF transcription was induced in the ltaS single or multiple mutants, LytF was localized not only at the septum, but also along the sidewall. The amounts of LytF bound to cell wall in the single (ltaS) and double (ltaS yfnI) mutants gradually increased as compared with that in the WT strain, and those in the triple (ltaS yfnI yqgS) and quadruple mutants were almost similar to that in the double mutant. Moreover, reduction of the lytF transcription and chained cell morphology in the ltaS mutant were completely restored with artificial induction of the yqgS gene. These results strongly suggest that LTA influences the temporal, σ(D)-dependent transcription of lytF and is an additional inhibitory component to the vegetative cell separation enzyme LytF.
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Biology, Graduate School of Science and Technology, Shinshu University, 3-15-1 Tokida, Ueda-shi, Nagano 386-8567, Japan.
authors.forename: Yuuka
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kiriyama
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Biology, Graduate School of Science and Technology, Shinshu University, 3-15-1 Tokida, Ueda-shi, Nagano 386-8567, Japan.
authors.forename: Kazuya
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yazawa
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Biology, Graduate School of Science and Technology, Shinshu University, 3-15-1 Tokida, Ueda-shi, Nagano 386-8567, Japan.
authors.forename: Tatsuhito
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tanaka
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Biology, Graduate School of Science and Technology, Shinshu University, 3-15-1 Tokida, Ueda-shi, Nagano 386-8567, Japan.
authors.forename: Ritsuko
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Yoshikawa
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Biology, Graduate School of Science and Technology, Shinshu University, 3-15-1 Tokida, Ueda-shi, Nagano 386-8567, Japan.
authors.forename: Hisaya
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yamane
authors.affiliation: Center of Infectious Disease and Signal Transduction, National Cheng Kung University Medical College, Tainan City 704-56, Taiwan.|Institute of Molecular Medicine, Tainan City 704-56, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Masayuki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hashimoto
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Biology, Graduate School of Science and Technology, Shinshu University, 3-15-1 Tokida, Ueda-shi, Nagano 386-8567, Japan.
authors.forename: Junichi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sekiguchi
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Biology, Graduate School of Science and Technology, Shinshu University, 3-15-1 Tokida, Ueda-shi, Nagano 386-8567, Japan.
authors.forename: Hiroki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yamamoto
mesh_terms: D001412:Bacillus subtilis / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000032:analysis* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D002455:Cell Division; D010450:Endopeptidases / Q000032:analysis* / Q000235:genetics; D015964:Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence; D012808:Sigma Factor / Q000378:metabolism; D014158:Transcription, Genetic
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D012808:Sigma Factor; C111259:sigE protein, Bacteria; D010450:Endopeptidases