Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Journal of Bacteriology logoLink to Journal of Bacteriology
. 1994 Sep;176(18):5820–5830. doi: 10.1128/jb.176.18.5820-5830.1994

Genetic control of bacterial suicide: regulation of the induction of PBSX in Bacillus subtilis.

G E McDonnell 1, H Wood 1, K M Devine 1, D J McConnell 1
PMCID: PMC196787  PMID: 8083174

Abstract

PBSX is a phage-like bacteriocin (phibacin) of Bacillus subtilis 168. Bacteria carrying the PBSX genome are induced by DNA-damaging agents to lyse and produce PBSX particles. The particles cannot propagate the PBSX genome. The particles produced by this suicidal response kill strains nonlysogenic for PBSX. A 5.2-kb region which controls the induction of PBSX has been sequenced. The genes identified include the previously identified repressor gene xre and a positive control factor gene, pcf. Pcf is similar to known sigma factors and acts at the late promoter PL, which has been located distal to pcf. The first two genes expressed from the late promoter show homology to genes encoding the subunits of phage terminases.

Full text

PDF
5820

Images in this article

5828Image
on p.5828

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Adams L. F., Brown K. L., Whiteley H. R. Molecular cloning and characterization of two genes encoding sigma factors that direct transcription from a Bacillus thuringiensis crystal protein gene promoter. J Bacteriol. 1991 Jun;173(12):3846–3854. doi: 10.1128/jb.173.12.3846-3854.1991. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Altschul S. F., Gish W., Miller W., Myers E. W., Lipman D. J. Basic local alignment search tool. J Mol Biol. 1990 Oct 5;215(3):403–410. doi: 10.1016/S0022-2836(05)80360-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Antoniewski C., Savelli B., Stragier P. The spoIIJ gene, which regulates early developmental steps in Bacillus subtilis, belongs to a class of environmentally responsive genes. J Bacteriol. 1990 Jan;172(1):86–93. doi: 10.1128/jb.172.1.86-93.1990. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Binnie C., Lampe M., Losick R. Gene encoding the sigma 37 species of RNA polymerase sigma factor from Bacillus subtilis. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1986 Aug;83(16):5943–5947. doi: 10.1073/pnas.83.16.5943. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Black L. W. DNA packaging in dsDNA bacteriophages. Annu Rev Microbiol. 1989;43:267–292. doi: 10.1146/annurev.mi.43.100189.001411. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Buxton R. S. Prophage mutation causing heat inducibility of defective Bacillus subtilis bacteriophage PBSX. J Virol. 1976 Oct;20(1):22–28. doi: 10.1128/jvi.20.1.22-28.1976. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Buxton R. S. Selection of Bacillus subtilis 168 mutants with deletions of the PBSX prophage. J Gen Virol. 1980 Feb;46(2):427–437. doi: 10.1099/0022-1317-46-2-427. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Chater K. F., Bruton C. J., Plaskitt K. A., Buttner M. J., Méndez C., Helmann J. D. The developmental fate of S. coelicolor hyphae depends upon a gene product homologous with the motility sigma factor of B. subtilis. Cell. 1989 Oct 6;59(1):133–143. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(89)90876-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Dever T. E., Glynias M. J., Merrick W. C. GTP-binding domain: three consensus sequence elements with distinct spacing. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1987 Apr;84(7):1814–1818. doi: 10.1073/pnas.84.7.1814. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Dodd I. B., Egan J. B. Improved detection of helix-turn-helix DNA-binding motifs in protein sequences. Nucleic Acids Res. 1990 Sep 11;18(17):5019–5026. doi: 10.1093/nar/18.17.5019. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Errington J. Two separable functional domains in the sigma-subunit of RNA polymerase in Bacillus subtilis? FEBS Lett. 1987 Nov 30;224(2):257–260. doi: 10.1016/0014-5793(87)80465-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Geiduschek E. P. Regulation of expression of the late genes of bacteriophage T4. Annu Rev Genet. 1991;25:437–460. doi: 10.1146/annurev.ge.25.120191.002253. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Gribskov M., Burgess R. R. Sigma factors from E. coli, B. subtilis, phage SP01, and phage T4 are homologous proteins. Nucleic Acids Res. 1986 Aug 26;14(16):6745–6763. doi: 10.1093/nar/14.16.6745. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Helmann J. D., Chamberlin M. J. Structure and function of bacterial sigma factors. Annu Rev Biochem. 1988;57:839–872. doi: 10.1146/annurev.bi.57.070188.004203. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Higgins D. G., Sharp P. M. CLUSTAL: a package for performing multiple sequence alignment on a microcomputer. Gene. 1988 Dec 15;73(1):237–244. doi: 10.1016/0378-1119(88)90330-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Lazinski D., Grzadzielska E., Das A. Sequence-specific recognition of RNA hairpins by bacteriophage antiterminators requires a conserved arginine-rich motif. Cell. 1989 Oct 6;59(1):207–218. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(89)90882-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Leonhardt H., Alonso J. C. Construction of a shuttle vector for inducible gene expression in Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis. J Gen Microbiol. 1988 Mar;134(3):605–609. doi: 10.1099/00221287-134-3-605. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Lonetto M., Gribskov M., Gross C. A. The sigma 70 family: sequence conservation and evolutionary relationships. J Bacteriol. 1992 Jun;174(12):3843–3849. doi: 10.1128/jb.174.12.3843-3849.1992. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. McConnell D. J., Cantwell B. A., Devine K. M., Forage A. J., Laoide B. M., O'Kane C., Ollington J. F., Sharp P. M. Genetic engineering of extracellular enzyme systems of Bacilli. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 1986;469:1–17. doi: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.1986.tb26480.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. McDonnell G. E., McConnell D. J. Overproduction, isolation, and DNA-binding characteristics of Xre, the repressor protein from the Bacillus subtilis defective prophage PBSX. J Bacteriol. 1994 Sep;176(18):5831–5834. doi: 10.1128/jb.176.18.5831-5834.1994. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. O'Kane C., Stephens M. A., McConnell D. Integrable alpha-amylase plasmid for generating random transcriptional fusions in Bacillus subtilis. J Bacteriol. 1986 Nov;168(2):973–981. doi: 10.1128/jb.168.2.973-981.1986. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. O'Reilly M., Woodson K., Dowds B. C., Devine K. M. The citrulline biosynthetic operon, argC-F, and a ribose transport operon, rbs, from Bacillus subtilis are negatively regulated by Spo0A. Mol Microbiol. 1994 Jan;11(1):87–98. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2958.1994.tb00292.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Okamoto K., Mudd J. A., Mangan J., Huang W. M., Subbaiah T. V., Marmur J. Properties of the defective phage of Bacillus subtilis. J Mol Biol. 1968 Jun 28;34(3):413–428. doi: 10.1016/0022-2836(68)90169-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. Okamoto K., Mudd J. A., Marmur J. Conversion of Bacillus subtilis DNA to phage DNA following mitomycin C induction. J Mol Biol. 1968 Jun 28;34(3):429–437. doi: 10.1016/0022-2836(68)90170-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  25. SUSSMAN R., JACOB F. [On a thermosensitive repression system in the Escherichia coli lambda bacteriophage]. C R Hebd Seances Acad Sci. 1962 Feb 19;254:1517–1519. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  26. Sanger F., Nicklen S., Coulson A. R. DNA sequencing with chain-terminating inhibitors. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1977 Dec;74(12):5463–5467. doi: 10.1073/pnas.74.12.5463. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  27. Staden R. Automation of the computer handling of gel reading data produced by the shotgun method of DNA sequencing. Nucleic Acids Res. 1982 Aug 11;10(15):4731–4751. doi: 10.1093/nar/10.15.4731. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  28. Starnbach M. N., Lory S. The fliA (rpoF) gene of Pseudomonas aeruginosa encodes an alternative sigma factor required for flagellin synthesis. Mol Microbiol. 1992 Feb;6(4):459–469. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2958.1992.tb01490.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  29. Tavares P., Santos M. A., Lurz R., Morelli G., de Lencastre H., Trautner T. A. Identification of a gene in Bacillus subtilis bacteriophage SPP1 determining the amount of packaged DNA. J Mol Biol. 1992 May 5;225(1):81–92. doi: 10.1016/0022-2836(92)91027-m. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  30. Thurm P., Garro A. J. Isolation and characterization of prophage mutants of the defective Bacillus subtilis bacteriophage PBSX. J Virol. 1975 Jul;16(1):184–191. doi: 10.1128/jvi.16.1.184-191.1975. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  31. Tinoco I., Jr, Borer P. N., Dengler B., Levin M. D., Uhlenbeck O. C., Crothers D. M., Bralla J. Improved estimation of secondary structure in ribonucleic acids. Nat New Biol. 1973 Nov 14;246(150):40–41. doi: 10.1038/newbio246040a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  32. Wood H. E., Dawson M. T., Devine K. M., McConnell D. J. Characterization of PBSX, a defective prophage of Bacillus subtilis. J Bacteriol. 1990 May;172(5):2667–2674. doi: 10.1128/jb.172.5.2667-2674.1990. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  33. Wood H. E., Devine K. M., McConnell D. J. Characterisation of a repressor gene (xre) and a temperature-sensitive allele from the Bacillus subtilis prophage, PBSX. Gene. 1990 Nov 30;96(1):83–88. doi: 10.1016/0378-1119(90)90344-q. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  34. Wu J. J., Schuch R., Piggot P. J. Characterization of a Bacillus subtilis sporulation operon that includes genes for an RNA polymerase sigma factor and for a putative DD-carboxypeptidase. J Bacteriol. 1992 Aug;174(15):4885–4892. doi: 10.1128/jb.174.15.4885-4892.1992. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  35. Ye Z. H., Lee C. Y. Cloning, sequencing, and genetic characterization of regulatory genes, rinA and rinB, required for the activation of staphylococcal phage phi 11 int expression. J Bacteriol. 1993 Feb;175(4):1095–1102. doi: 10.1128/jb.175.4.1095-1102.1993. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Journal of Bacteriology are provided here courtesy of American Society for Microbiology (ASM)

RESOURCES