A DNA damage-activated kinase controls bacterial immune pathway expression.

ABSTRACT: Bacteria encode myriad stress-response pathways that protect their hosts against both internal and external threats. A key question is how these pathways are regulated, especially anti-phage immune pathways that mediate host cell killing. Here, we identify two proteins termed CapK and CapS that are encoded upstream of diverse immune operons, and regulate their expression in response to DNA damage. CapK resembles bacterial anti-sigma factor kinases, and CapS resembles these proteins' STAS domain antagonists. CapS is a DNA-binding transcriptional repressor, and phosphorylation of CapS by CapK results in dissociation of a CapS homodimer and de-repression of transcription. CapK's kinase activity is directly activated by single-stranded DNA generated as a by-product of DNA repair. Finally, we s

SUBMITTER: Chambers LR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12889548 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature