Open AccessCloning, nucleotide sequence, and regulation of katE encoding a sigma B-dependent catalase in Bacillus subtilis
Author(s) -
Susanne Engelmann,
Cordula Lindner,
Michael Hecker
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
journal of bacteriology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.652
H-Index - 246
eISSN - 1067-8832
pISSN - 0021-9193
DOI - 10.1128/jb.177.19.5598-5605.1995
Subject(s) - biology , bacillus subtilis , sigma factor , gene , microbiology and biotechnology , open reading frame , nucleic acid sequence , catalase , mutant , escherichia coli , peptide sequence , genetics , biochemistry , enzyme , rna polymerase , bacteria
A sigma B-dependent stress gene of Bacillus subtilis was localized downstream of the licS gene. The predicted amino acid sequence exhibited a significant similarity to the sequence of the katE-encoded catalase HPII of Escherichia coli, and we designated it the open reading frame katE. In a B. subtilis katE mutant, catalase 2 could not be detected. The amount of katE-specific mRNA was increased after heat, salt, or ethanol stress or after glucose starvation in a sigma B-dependent manner. As in E. coli, the transcription of the katE gene in B. subtilis was unaffected by the addition of H2O2 to exponentially growing cells. In contrast, the katA gene encoding catalase 1 of B. subtilis showed an induction pattern different from that of katE; katA expression was strongly increased by oxidative stress. The similarity between E. coli sigma S-dependent genes and B. subtilis sigma B-dependent genes suggests that both may confer multiple stress resistance to stationary-phase cells.