title: Salt-sensitivity of σ(H) and Spo0A prevents sporulation of Bacillus subtilis at high osmolarity avoiding death during cellular differentiation.
abstract: The spore-forming bacterium Bacillus subtilis frequently experiences high osmolarity as a result of desiccation in the soil. The formation of a highly desiccation-resistant endospore might serve as a logical osmostress escape route when vegetative growth is no longer possible. However, sporulation efficiency drastically decreases concomitant with an increase in the external salinity. Fluorescence microscopy of sporulation-specific promoter fusions to gfp revealed that high salinity blocks entry into the sporulation pathway at a very early stage. Specifically, we show that both Spo0A- and SigH-dependent transcription are impaired. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the association of SigH with core RNA polymerase is reduced under these conditions. Suppressors that modestly increase sporulation efficiency at high salinity map to the coding region of sigH and in the regulatory region of kinA, encoding one the sensor kinases that activates Spo0A. These findings led us to discover that B. subtilis cells that overproduce KinA can bypass the salt-imposed block in sporulation. Importantly, these cells are impaired in the morphological process of engulfment and late forespore gene expression and frequently undergo lysis. Altogether our data indicate that B. subtilis blocks entry into sporulation in high-salinity environments preventing commitment to a developmental program that it cannot complete.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Laboratory for Molecular Microbiology, Philipps-University Marburg, Karl-von-Frisch Str. 8, D-35043, Marburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Nils
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Widderich
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Immunobiology, Harvard Medical School, 77 Avenue Louis Pasteur, Boston, MA, 02115-5701, USA.
authors.forename: Christopher D A
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Rodrigues
authors.affiliation: Department of General Microbiology, Institute of Microbiology and Genetics, Georg August University Göttingen, Griesebachstr, 8, D-37077, Göttingen, Germany.
authors.forename: Fabian M
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: Commichau
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Laboratory for Molecular Microbiology, Philipps-University Marburg, Karl-von-Frisch Str. 8, D-35043, Marburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Kathleen E
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Fischer
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Immunobiology, Harvard Medical School, 77 Avenue Louis Pasteur, Boston, MA, 02115-5701, USA.
authors.forename: Fernando H
authors.initials: FH
authors.lastname: Ramirez-Guadiana
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Immunobiology, Harvard Medical School, 77 Avenue Louis Pasteur, Boston, MA, 02115-5701, USA.
authors.forename: David Z
authors.initials: DZ
authors.lastname: Rudner
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Laboratory for Molecular Microbiology, Philipps-University Marburg, Karl-von-Frisch Str. 8, D-35043, Marburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Erhard
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bremer
mesh_terms: D001412:Bacillus subtilis / Q000502:physiology*; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D012321:DNA-Directed RNA Polymerases / Q000378:metabolism; D015964:Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial; D009154:Mutation; D009994:Osmolar Concentration; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D011485:Protein Binding; D054712:Salinity; D055049:Salt Tolerance / Q000235:genetics*; D013171:Spores, Bacterial; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D014157:Transcription Factors; D012321:DNA-Directed RNA Polymerases