In Bacillus subtilis LutR is part of the global complex regulatory network governing the adaptation to the transition from exponential growth to stationary phase

Abstract

The lutR gene, encoding a product resembling a GntR-family transcriptional regulator, has previously been identified as a gene required for the production of the dipeptide antibiotic bacilysin in Bacillus subtilis. To understand the broader regulatory roles of LutR in B. subtilis, we studied the genome-wide effects of a lutR null mutation by combining transcriptional profiling studies using DNA microarrays, reverse transcription quantitative PCR, lacZ fusion analyses and gel mobility shift assays. We report that 65 transcriptional units corresponding to 23 mono-cistronic units and 42 operons show altered expression levels in lutR mutant cells, as compared with lutR + wild-type cells in early stationary phase. Among these, 11 single genes and 25 operons are likely to be under direct control of LutR. The products of these genes are involved in a variety of physiological processes associated with the onset of stationary phase in B. subtilis, including degradative enzyme production, antibiotic production and resistance, carbohydrate utilization and transport, nitrogen metabolism, phosphate uptake, fatty acid and phospholipid biosynthesis, protein synthesis and translocation, cell-wall metabolism, energy production, transfer of mobile genetic elements, induction of phage-related genes, sporulation, delay of sporulation and cannibalism, and biofilm formation. Furthermore, an electrophoretic mobility shift assay performed in the presence of both SinR and LutR revealed a close overlap between the LutR and SinR targets. Our data also revealed a significant overlap with the AbrB regulon. Together, these findings reveal that LutR is part of the global complex, interconnected regulatory systems governing adaptation of bacteria to the transition from exponential growth to stationary phase.

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“…Upon starvation, SinR-mediated repression of slrR is released, due to which SlrR subsequently stimulates tapA expression. In addition to SlrR, there is another regulator, LutR, that directly regulates tapA expression, while it only indirectly affects eps expression (65). Thus, even though tapA expression and eps expression are in part regulated by the same regulatory proteins, there are many small regulatory differences that could explain our results (see Fig.…”

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“…BslA is an amphiphilic protein involved in forming a hydrophobic surface layer of biofilms. The expression of bslA is regulated by multiple regulators such as DegU, AbrB and LutR (Verhamme et al, 2009; Ostrowski et al, 2011; Irigul-Sonmez et al, 2014), but it has not been reported which sigma factor controls the transcription of bslA . We also found a SigD-binding motif upstream of the TSS of bslA (Fig.…”

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“…Such kinds of transcription factors respond to stimuli by acting on distinct regulons [89]. The regulatory roles of LutR, encompassing a broad range of physiological activities in B. subtilis were recently documented [90].…”