The Ser/Thr protein kinase PrkC imprints phenotypic memory in Bacillus anthracis spores by phosphorylating the glycolytic enzyme enolase.

ABSTRACT: Bacillus anthracis is the causative agent of anthrax in humans, bovine, and other animals. B. anthracis pathogenesis requires differentiation of dormant spores into vegetative cells. The spores inherit cellular components as phenotypic memory from the parent cell, and this memory plays a critical role in facilitating the spores' revival. Because metabolism initiates at the beginning of spore germination, here we metabolically reprogrammed B. anthracis cells to understand the role of glycolytic enzymes in this process. We show that increased expression of enolase (Eno) in the sporulating mother cell decreases germination efficiency. Eno is phosphorylated by the conserved Ser/Thr protein kinase PrkC which decreases the catalytic activity of Eno. We found that phosphoryla

SUBMITTER: Virmani R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6552411 | biostudies-literature | 2019 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature