Control of Synthesis of Wall Teichoic Acid during Balanced Growth of Bacillus subtilis W23

Cheah, S. C.; Hussey, Helen; Hancock, I.C.; Baddiley, J.

doi:10.1099/00221287-128-3-593

Cited by 3 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…Most of the enzymes involved in WTA synthesis are almost undetectable during balanced growth of strain W23 at low concentrations of P i in chemostat cultures, while at 4 mM P i they are maximally expressed (87,88). The teichuronic acid operon (tua) belongs to the Pho regulon (231), and hence phosphate limitation induces its transcription (286,452).…”

Section: Mutants Defective In Lta and Wta Assemblymentioning

confidence: 99%

A Continuum of Anionic Charge: Structures and Functions ofd-Alanyl-Teichoic Acids in Gram-Positive Bacteria

Neuhaus

Baddiley

2003

Microbiol Mol Biol Rev

900

1,097

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SUMMARY Teichoic acids (TAs) are major wall and membrane components of most gram-positive bacteria. With few exceptions, they are polymers of glycerol-phosphate or ribitol-phosphate to which are attached glycosyl and d-alanyl ester residues. Wall TA is attached to peptidoglycan via a linkage unit, whereas lipoteichoic acid is attached to glycolipid intercalated in the membrane. Together with peptidoglycan, these polymers make up a polyanionic matrix that functions in (i) cation homeostasis; (ii) trafficking of ions, nutrients, proteins, and antibiotics; (iii) regulation of autolysins; and (iv) presentation of envelope proteins. The esterification of TAs with d-alanyl esters provides a means of modulating the net anionic charge, determining the cationic binding capacity, and displaying cations in the wall. This review addresses the structures and functions of d-alanyl-TAs, the d-alanylation system encoded by the dlt operon, and the roles of TAs in cell growth. The importance of dlt in the physiology of many organisms is illustrated by the variety of mutant phenotypes. In addition, advances in our understanding of d-alanyl ester function in virulence and host-mediated responses have been made possible through targeted mutagenesis of dlt. Studies of the mechanism of d-alanylation have identified two potential targets of antibacterial action and provided possible screening reactions for designing novel agents targeted to d-alanyl-TA synthesis.

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Section: Mutants Defective In Lta and Wta Assemblymentioning

confidence: 99%

A Continuum of Anionic Charge: Structures and Functions ofd-Alanyl-Teichoic Acids in Gram-Positive Bacteria

Neuhaus

Baddiley

2003

Microbiol Mol Biol Rev

900

1,097

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“…In B. subtilis 168, the phosphate-dependent regulation of tag genes, which encode WTA biosynthesis as well as the WTA-TUA switch, has been studied previously (Liu et al, 1998;Mauël et al, 1994;Müller et al, 1997;Soldo et al, 1999). In strain W23, only biochemical studies were performed, and these showed that cell wall composition depends on phosphate concentration (Cheah et al, 1982;Wright & Heckels, 1975). Investigation of the regulation of tar genes during growth in rich medium has shown that tarA regulation involves two ECF s factors (Minnig et al, 2003) and possibly other regulators (unpublished data).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In strain W23, only the biochemical aspects of the replacement of WTA by TUA have been studied so far (Cheah et al, 1982;Wright & Heckels, 1975). However, the presence of a putative PhoP-binding region, referred to as the Pho-box, in the tarA-tarD intergenic region ( Fig.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Analysis of teichoic acid biosynthesis regulation reveals that the extracytoplasmic function sigma factor σ M is induced by phosphate depletion in Bacillus subtilis W23

et al. 2005

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The expression of the Bacillus subtilis W23 tar genes specifying the biosynthesis of the major wall teichoic acid, the poly(ribitol phosphate), was studied under phosphate limitation using lacZ reporter fusions. Three different regulation patterns can be deduced from these b-galactosidase activity data: (i) tarD and tarL gene expression is downregulated under phosphate starvation; (ii) tarA and, to a minor extent, tarB expression after an initial decrease unexpectedly increases; and (iii) tarO is not influenced by phosphate concentration. To dissect the tarA regulatory pattern, its two promoters were analysed under phosphate limitation: The P tarA -ext promoter is repressed under phosphate starvation by the PhoPR two-component system, whereas, under the same conditions, the P tarA -int promoter is upregulated by the action of an extracytoplasmic function (ECF) s factor, s M . In contrast to strain 168, s M is activated in strain W23 in phosphate-depleted conditions, a phenomenon indirectly dependent on PhoPR, the two-component regulatory system responsible for the adaptation to phosphate starvation. These results provide further evidence for the role of s M in cell-wall stress response, and suggest that impairment of cell-wall structure is the signal activating this ECF s factor.

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Activation and inactivation of synthesis of secondary wall polymers in Bacillus subtilis W23

Hancock

1983

Arch. Microbiol.

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The progress of activation and inactivation of synthesis of the wall polymers, teichoic acid and teichuronic acid, in response to changes in the phosphate content of the growth medium has been examined using toluenised cells of B. subtilis W23. Activation of teichoic acid synthesis from nucleotide precursors was independent of protein synthesis, but chloramphenicol prevented activation when DL-glycerol 3-phosphate and CTP replaced CDP-glycerol as one of the substrates of the reaction. Activation of teichuronic acid synthesis was dependent on synthesis of protein. Inactivation of synthesis of both polymers was slowed, but not prevented, by inhibition of protein synthesis. Evidence was obtained that a protein synthesised during phosphate starvation retards the activation of teichoic acid synthesis.

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Control of Synthesis of Wall Teichoic Acid during Balanced Growth of Bacillus subtilis W23

Cited by 3 publications

References 19 publications

A Continuum of Anionic Charge: Structures and Functions ofd-Alanyl-Teichoic Acids in Gram-Positive Bacteria

A Continuum of Anionic Charge: Structures and Functions ofd-Alanyl-Teichoic Acids in Gram-Positive Bacteria

Analysis of teichoic acid biosynthesis regulation reveals that the extracytoplasmic function sigma factor σ M is induced by phosphate depletion in Bacillus subtilis W23

Activation and inactivation of synthesis of secondary wall polymers in Bacillus subtilis W23

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