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Chemotaxis, sporulation, and larvicide production in Bacillus sphaericus 2362
Author(s) -
Andreev J.,
Dibrov P.A.,
Klein D.,
Braun S.
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
febs letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.593
H-Index - 257
eISSN - 1873-3468
pISSN - 0014-5793
DOI - 10.1016/0014-5793(94)00538-9
Subject(s) - chemotaxis , bacillus sphaericus , bacilli , spore , biology , microbiology and biotechnology , bacillus (shape) , biochemistry , chemistry , bacteria , bacillales , bacillus subtilis , receptor , genetics
4‐Aminophenylboronic acid (APBA), a known inhibitor of sporulation in Bacilli , as well as l ‐ethionine, a known inhibitor of chemotaxis in Enterobacteria , inhibited both sporulation and chemotactic behavior but not growth of Bacillus sphaericus . Both compounds also inhibited the methyl group turnover on the methyl‐accepting chemotaxis protein (P53) in this microorganism. Sporulation of B. sphaericus was inhibited only when APBA was added to the growing culture before the late logarithmic stage. It was previously demonstrated that the ability of B. sphaericus to respond to chemoattractants sharply declines at the same age of the culture. Thus, it seems plausible that the action of both inhibitors upon sporulation may be attributed to the inhibition of some regulatory pathway common to chemotaxis and sporulation and involving protein methylation. Possible exchange of the nutrient depletion‐related sensory information between chemotaxis and sporulation systems at the level of methyl group transfer is discussed.