ArticleMolecular microbiology2015
ComGA-RelA interaction and persistence in the Bacillus subtilis K-state.
Article in Molecular microbiology, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 37 papers.
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Who cites it
37 citing papers in PubMed.
- Genomic and functional dissection of natural transformation-related genes inMicrobiology spectrum · 2026Article
- Cell density and single-cell heterogeneity reveal distinct competence induction dynamics in the high-GC Gram-positive Micrococcus luteus.BMC microbiology · 2026Article
- Nucleoid structure and dynamics influence natural chromosomal transformation in Bacillus subtilis: the role of EbfC.Nucleic acids research · 2025Article
- ComK-induced cell death is reversed by upregulating the SigB or Spx pathway inMicrobiology spectrum · 2025Article
- c-di-GMP-Dependent Regulation of Motility bybioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Naturally competent bacteria and their genetic parasites-a battle for control over horizontal gene transfer?FEMS microbiology reviews · 2025Review
- Molecular mechanism and application of emerging technologies in study of bacterial persisters.BMC microbiology · 2024Review
- Pneumococcal competence is a populational health sensor driving multilevel heterogeneity in response to antibiotics.Nature communications · 2024Article
- Heterogeneity in maternal mRNAs within clutches of eggs in response to thermal stress during the embryonic stage.BMC ecology and evolution · 2024Article
- The ComRS-SigX Pathway Regulates Natural Transformation in Streptococcus ferus.Journal of bacteriology · 2023Article
- The ComRS-SigX pathway regulates natural transformation inbioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2023Article
- The RecA-directed recombination pathway of natural transformation initiates at chromosomal replication forks in the pneumococcus.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2023Article
- Termination factor Rho mediates transcriptional reprogramming of Bacillus subtilis stationary phase.PLoS genetics · 2023Article
- (p)ppGpp - an important player during heat shock response.microLife · 2023Review
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- Kin discrimination promotes horizontal gene transfer between unrelated strains in Bacillus subtilis.Nature communications · 2021Article
- A meet-up of two second messengers: the c-di-AMP receptor DarB controls (p)ppGpp synthesis in Bacillus subtilis.Nature communications · 2021Article
- Negative Interplay between Biofilm Formation and Competence in the Environmental Strains ofmSystems · 2020Article
- The alarmones (p)ppGpp are part of the heat shock response of Bacillus subtilis.PLoS genetics · 2020Article
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5 authors.
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Abstract
The bistably expressed K-state of Bacillus subtilis is characterized by two distinct features; transformability and arrested growth when K-state cells are exposed to fresh medium. The arrest is manifested by a failure to assemble replisomes and by decreased rates of cell growth and rRNA synthesis. These phenotypes are all partially explained by the presence of the AAA(+) protein ComGA, which is also required for the binding of transforming DNA to the cell surface and for the assembly of the transformation pilus that mediates DNA transport. We have discovered that ComGA interacts with RelA and that the ComGA-dependent inhibition of rRNA synthesis is largely bypassed in strains that cannot synthesize the alarmone (p)ppGpp. We propose that the interaction of ComGA with RelA prevents the hydrolysis of (p)ppGpp in K-state cells, which are thus trapped in a non-growing state until ComGA is degraded. We show that some K-state cells exhibit tolerance to antibiotics, a form of type 1 persistence, and we propose that the bistable expression of both transformability and the growth arrest are bet-hedging adaptations that improve fitness in the face of varying environments, such as those presumably encountered by B. subtilis in the soil.
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