Primary and secondary oxidative stress in Bacillus

Abstract

SummaryCoping with oxidative stress originating from oxidizing compounds or reactive oxygen species (ROS), associated with the exposure to agents that cause environmental stresses, is one of the prerequisites for an aerobic lifestyle of Bacillus spp. such as B. subtilis, B. cereus and B. anthracis. This minireview highlights novel insights in the primary oxidative stress response caused by oxidizing compounds including hydrogen peroxide and the secondary oxidative stress responses apparent upon exposure to a range of agents and conditions leading to environmental stresses such as antibiotics, heat and acid. Insights in the pathways and damaging radicals involved have been compiled based among others on transcriptome studies, network analyses and fluorescence techniques for detection of ROS at single cell level. Exploitation of the current knowledge for the control of spoilage and pathogenic bacteria is discussed.

NrdH Redoxin Enhances Resistance to Multiple Oxidative Stresses by Acting as a Peroxidase Cofactor in Corynebacterium glutamicum

“…The primary oxidative stress leads to oxidized sulfhydryl groups, lipid peroxidation, the generation of ROS, and a disturbed NAD ϩ /NADH balance, whereas the secondary oxidative stress leads to ROS production particularly (60). ROS can cause a wide range of biological molecule damages, i.e., protein and lipid oxidation, disulfide bond formation, iron-sulfur cluster disassembly, and DNA fragmentation, and eventually lead to cell death (52)(53)(54).…”

Contributions of Individual σ B -Dependent General Stress Genes to Oxidative Stress Resistance of Bacillus subtilis

“…Acid stress has been reported to induce the oxidative stress response in B. subtilis (46) and to cause hydroxyl radical (OH ⅐ ) and peroxynitrite (ONOO Ϫ ) formation in Bacillus cereus (31). A radical-mediated mechanism for cell death caused by bactericidal antibiotics such as bacitracin was proposed previously (26), and the formation of superoxide and hydroxyl radicals was demonstrated to occur upon heat stress in B. subtilis (29) and B. cereus (30). Furthermore, ethanol, salt, and cold stresses have been shown to induce PerR-regulated genes in B. subtilis (20,21,24), and the respiratory chain of mitochondria was reported to be the origin of the extensive generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) during ethanol metabolism in hepatocytes (1,5).…”

Exploring the Amino Acid Residue Requirements of the RNA Polymerase (RNAP) α Subunit C-Terminal Domain for Productive Interaction between Spx and RNAP of Bacillus subtilis

“…Toxic oxidants such as diamide directly target Bacillus macromolecules and induce a rapid primary oxidative stress response. In addition, high concentrations of toxic agents such as NaCl likely disrupt electron transport function, leading to the generation of reactive oxygen species and thus induce a gradual secondary oxidative stress response (31,32). Salt stress was previously reported to induce the Spx regulon (32).…”