The Bacterial Tyrosine Kinase Activator TkmA Contributes to Biofilm Formation Largely Independently of the Cognate Kinase PtkA in Bacillus subtilis.

ABSTRACT:

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In Bacillus subtilis, biosynthesis of exopolysaccharide (EPS), a key biofilm matrix component, is regulated at the posttranslational level by the bacterial tyrosine kinase (BY-kinase) EpsB. EpsB, in turn, relies on the cognate kinase activator EpsA for activation. A concerted role of a second BY-kinase-kinase activator pair, PtkA and TkmA, respectively in biofilm formation was also indicated in previous studies. However, the exact functions of PtkA and TkmA in biofilm formation remain unclear. In this work, we show that the kinase activator TkmA contributes to biofilm formation largely independently of the cognate kinase, PtkA. We further show that the biofilm defect caused by a ΔtkmA mutation can be rescued by complementation by epsA, suggesting a functional overlap bet

SUBMITTER: Gao T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4621062 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature