CarF mediates signaling by singlet oxygen, generated via photoexcited protoporphyrin IX, in Myxococcus xanthus light-induced carotenogenesis.

ABSTRACT: Blue light triggers carotenogenesis in the nonphototrophic bacterium Myxococcus xanthus by inducing inactivation of an anti-σ factor, CarR, and the consequent liberation of the cognate extracytoplasmic function (ECF) σ factor, CarQ. CarF, the protein implicated earliest in the response to light, does not resemble any known photoreceptor. It interacts physically with CarR and is required for its light-driven inactivation, but the mechanism is unknown. Blue-light sensing in M. xanthus has been attributed to the heme precursor protoporphyrin IX (PPIX), which can generate the highly reactive singlet oxygen species ((1)O(2)) by energy transfer to oxygen. However, (1)O(2) involvement in M. xanthus light-induced carotenogenesis remains to be established. Here, we present genetic evidence of the i

SUBMITTER: Galbis-Martinez M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3294824 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature