Glucolipids and lipoteichoic acids affect the activity of SigI, an alternative sigma factor, and WalKR, an essential two‐component system, in Bacillus subtilis

Abstract

The cell walls of Gram-positive bacteria, of which Bacillus subtilis is a representative, consist of multiple thick layers of peptidoglycan, which form the major physical and chemical defense against deadly agents. Beneath it lies the cytoplasmic membrane, a bilayer of phospholipids and glucolipids. The membrane forms a barrier against various molecules. Gram-positive bacteria have other components within their envelope, polymers of glycerol phosphate, wall teichoic acids, which are covalently linked with peptidoglycan, and lipoteichoic acids (LTA), which are linked by a diglucosyldiacylglycerol (DGlcDG) or a diacylglycerol (DG) in the absence of DGlcDG to the membrane (Gründling & Schneewind, 2006;Seki et al., 2019). These polymers make up a polyanionic network or matrix that provides various essential functions on the envelope of Gram-positive bacteria (