A new highly conserved antibiotic sensing/resistance pathway in firmicutes involves an ABC transporter interplaying with a signal transduction system.

ABSTRACT: Signal transduction systems and ABC transporters often contribute jointly to adaptive bacterial responses to environmental changes. In Bacillus subtilis, three such pairs are involved in responses to antibiotics: BceRSAB, YvcPQRS and YxdJKLM. They are characterized by a histidine kinase belonging to the intramembrane sensing kinase family and by a translocator possessing an unusually large extracytoplasmic loop. It was established here using a phylogenomic approach that systems of this kind are specific but widespread in Firmicutes, where they originated. The present phylogenetic analyses brought to light a highly dynamic evolutionary history involving numerous horizontal gene transfers, duplications and lost events, leading to a great variety of Bce-like repertories in members of this bac

SUBMITTER: Coumes-Florens S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3023708 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature