DNA Repair and Genome Maintenance in Bacillus subtilis

Abstract

SUMMARY From microbes to multicellular eukaryotic organisms, all cells contain pathways responsible for genome maintenance. DNA replication allows for the faithful duplication of the genome, whereas DNA repair pathways preserve DNA integrity in response to damage originating from endogenous and exogenous sources. The basic pathways important for DNA replication and repair are often conserved throughout biology. In bacteria, high-fidelity repair is balanced with low-fidelity repair and mutagenesis. Such a balance is important for maintaining viability while providing an opportunity for the advantageous selection of mutations when faced with a changing environment. Over the last decade, studies of DNA repair pathways in bacteria have demonstrated considerable differences between Gram-positive and Gram-negative organisms. Here we review and discuss the DNA repair, genome maintenance, and DNA damage checkpoint pathways of the Gram-positive bacterium Bacillus subtilis. We present their molecular mechanisms and compare the functions and regulation of several pathways with known information on other organisms. We also discuss DNA repair during different growth phases and the developmental program of sporulation. In summary, we present a review of the function, regulation, and molecular mechanisms of DNA repair and mutagenesis in Gram-positive bacteria, with a strong emphasis on B. subtilis.

Resistance of Bacillus subtilis Spore DNA to Lethal Ionizing Radiation Damage Relies Primarily on Spore Core Components and DNA Repair, with Minor Effects of Oxygen Radical Detoxification

“…3 and 4). Because ionizing radiation causes such a wide spectrum of direct and indirect DNA damage, it will be interesting to determine the contributions of additional error-free and error-prone DNA repair pathways (e.g., mismatch repair, translesion synthesis, and homologous recombination [29,[42][43][44]), to gain further detailed insights into spore resistance to ionizing radiation.…”

RecD2 Helicase Limits Replication Fork Stress in Bacillus subtilis

“…RecD2 helicases are typically found in bacteria that lack the RecBC proteins (4,15,19,20). RecD2 is homologous to RecD in the C-terminal domain; however, RecD2 is distinct in that it contains a long N-terminal extension that is not present in RecD (15,19,20) (Fig.…”

MutS2 Promotes Homologous Recombination in Bacillus subtilis

“…In B. subtilis, a number of proteins have been shown to function in promoting homologous recombination either by assaying for DNA uptake and integration or through the study of DNA damaging agents, called clastogens, that require homologous recombination for repair (for a review, see references 3 and 4). These approaches have helped define the RecA-dependent homologous recombination and the RecA-independent nonhomologous end-joining (NHEJ) pathways in B. subtilis (3,(5)(6)(7).…”