RodZ and PgsA Play Intertwined Roles in Membrane Homeostasis of Bacillus subtilis and Resistance to Weak Organic Acid Stress.

ABSTRACT: Weak organic acids like sorbic and acetic acid are widely used to prevent growth of spoilage organisms such as Bacilli. To identify genes involved in weak acid stress tolerance we screened a transposon mutant library of Bacillus subtilis for sorbic acid sensitivity. Mutants of the rodZ (ymfM) gene were found to be hypersensitive to the lipophilic weak organic acid. RodZ is involved in determining the cell's rod-shape and believed to interact with the bacterial actin-like MreB cytoskeleton. Since rodZ lies upstream in the genome of the essential gene pgsA (phosphatidylglycerol phosphate synthase) we hypothesized that expression of the latter might also be affected in rodZ mutants and hence contribute to the phenotype observed. We show that both gene

SUBMITTER: van Beilen J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5073135 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature