Regulation of Bacillus subtilis macrofiber twist development by D-alanine.

Twist states of Bacillus subtilis macrofibers were found to vary as a function of the concentration of D-alanine in the medium during growth. L-Alanine in the same concentration range had no effect. Increasing concentrations of D-alanine resulted in structures progressively more right-handed (or less left-handed). All strains examined in this study, including mutants fixed in the left-hand domain as a function of temperature, responded to D-alanine in the same way. All twist states from tight left- to tight right-handedness could be achieved solely by varying the D-alanine concentration. The D-alanine-requiring macrofiber strain 2C8, which carries a genetic defect (dal-1) in the alanine racemase, behaved in a similar fashion. The combined effects of D-alanine and ammonium sulfate (a factor known to influence macrofiber twist development in the leftward direction) were examined by using both strains able to undergo temperature-induced helix hand inversion and others incapable of doing so. In all cases, the effects of D-alanine predominated. A synergism was found in which increasing the concentration of ammonium sulfate in the presence of D-alanine enhanced the right-factor activity of the latter. A D-alanine pulse protocol provided evidence that structures undergo a transient inversion indicative of "memory." Chloramphenicol treatment inhibited the establishment of memory in the D-alanine-induced right to left inversion, supporting the existence of a "left twist protein(s)" that is required for the attainment of left-handed twist states. Chemical analysis of cell walls obtained from right- and left-handed macrofibers produced in the presence and absence of D-alanine, respectively, failed to reveal twist state-specific differences in the overall composition of either peptidoglycan or wall teichoic acids.     

Regulation of Bacillus subtilis macrofiber twist development by ions: effects of magnesium and ammonium.

The steady-state twist of Bacillus subtilis macrofibers produced by growth in complex medium was found to vary as a function of the magnesium and ammonium concentrations. Four categories of macrofiber-producing strains that differed in their response to temperature regulation of twist were studied. Macrofibers were cultured in the complex medium TB used in previous experiments and in two derivative media, T (consisting of Bacto Tryptose), in which most strains produced left-handed structures, and Be (consisting of Bacto Beef Extract), in which right-handed macrofibers arose. In nearly all cases, increasing concentrations of magnesium led to the production of macrofibers with greater right-handed twist. Some strains unable to form right-handed structures as a function of temperature could be made to do so by the addition of magnesium. Inversion from right- to left-handedness in strain FJ7 induced by temperature shift-up was blocked by the addition of magnesium. The presence of magnesium during a high-temperature pulse did not block the establishment of "memory," although it delayed the initiation of the transient inversion following return to low temperature. The twist state of macrofibers grown without a magnesium supplement was not instantaneously affected by the addition of magnesium. Such fibers were, however, protected from lysozyme attack and associated relaxation motions. Lysozyme degradation of purified cell walls (both intact and lacking teichoic acid) was also blocked by the addition of magnesium. Ammonium ions influenced macrofiber twist development towards the left-hand end of the twist spectrum. Macrofiber twist produced in mixtures of magnesium and ammonium was strain and medium dependent.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Helical macrofiber formation in Bacillus subtilis: inhibition by penicillin G.

The folding process required for helical macrofiber formation after the outgrowth of Bacillus subtilis spores was found to be blocked by very low concentrations of penicillin G (1 to 3 ng/ml). Under such conditions, growth and septation without cell separation resulted in characteristic disorganized multicellular structures. Higher concentrations (4 and 10 ng/ml) were needed to inhibit spore outgrowth and vegetative growth, respectively.     

Regulation of sigma factor activity during Bacillus subtilis development

Progression of Bacillus subtilis through a series of morphological changes is driven by a cascade of sigma (sigma) factors and results in formation of a spore. Recent work has provided new insights into the location and function of proteins that control sigma factor activity, and has suggested that multiple mechanisms allow one sigma factor to replace another in the cascade.     

Helical growth and macrofiber formation of Bacillus subtilis 168 autolytic enzyme deficient mutants

Two poorly lytic, chain-forming mutants of Bacillus subtilis 168, strains FJ3 and FJ6, each 90-95% deficient in the production of N-acetylmuramoyl-l-alanine amidase and endo-beta-N-acethyglucosaminidase, grew helically under a variety of cultural condtions. The structures formed ranged in complexity from double-standed helices to complex aggregates of entangled and interwoven single chains and multistransded helical fibres. Factors favoring this type of helical growth were investigated. Occasional tight single-standed corkscrew like forms were detected in the mutant cultrues. Two other poorly lytic mutant strains of Bacillus were also found to have helical growth capacity. These results have been interpreted as support for the recently proposed (1976) tension restricted helical growth model of Mendelson.     

Regulation of glutamate dehydrogenase in Bacillus subtilis.

The activity of the nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide-dependent glutamate dehydrogenase in Bacillus subtilis was influenced by the carbon source, but not the nitrogen source, in the growth medium. The highest specific activity for this enzyme was found when B. subtilis was grown in a minimal or rich medium that contained glutamate as the carbon source. It is proposed that glutamate dehydrogenase serves a catabolic function in the metabolism of glutamate, is induced by glutamate, and is subject to catabolite repression.     

Regulation of Polyglutamic Acid Synthesis by Glutamate in Bacillus licheniformis and Bacillus subtilis

The synthesis of polyglutamic acid (PGA) was repressed by exogenous glutamate in strains of Bacillus licheniformis but not in strains of Bacillus subtilis, indicating a clear difference in the regulation of synthesis of capsular slime in these two species. Although extracellular γ-glutamyltranspeptidase (GGT) activity was always present in PGA-producing cultures of B. licheniformis under various growth conditions, there was no correlation between the quantity of PGA and enzyme activity. Moreover, the synthesis of PGA in the absence of detectable GGT activity in B. subtilis S317 indicated that this enzyme was not involved in PGA biosynthesis in this bacterium. Glutamate repression of PGA biosynthesis may offer a simple means of preventing unwanted slime production in industrial fermentations using B. licheniformis.     

Regulation of glycerol uptake by the phosphoenolpyruvate-sugar phosphotransferase system in Bacillus subtilis.

Enteric bacteria have been previously shown to regulate the uptake of certain carbohydrates (lactose, maltose, and glycerol) by an allosteric mechanism involving the catalytic activities of the phosphoenolpyruvate-sugar phosphotransferase system. In the present studies, a ptsI mutant of Bacillus subtilis, possessing a thermosensitive enzyme I of the phosphotransferase system, was used to gain evidence for a similar regulatory mechanism in a gram-positive bacterium. Thermoinactivation of enzyme I resulted in the loss of methyl alpha-glucoside uptake activity and enhanced sensitivity of glycerol uptake to inhibition by sugar substrates of the phosphotransferase system. The concentration of the inhibiting sugar which half maximally blocked glycerol uptake was directly related to residual enzyme I activity. Each sugar substrate of the phosphotransferase system inhibited glycerol uptake provided that the enzyme II specific for that sugar was induced to a sufficiently high level. The results support the conclusion that the phosphotransferase system regulates glycerol uptake in B. subtilis and perhaps in other gram-positive bacteria.     

Dynamics of Bacillus subtilis helical macrofiber morphogenesis: writhing, folding, close packing, and contraction

Helical Bacillus subtilis macrofibers are highly ordered structures consisting of individual cells packed in a geometry remarkably similar to that found in helically twisted yarns (G. A. Carnaby, in J. W. S. Hearle et al., ed., The Mechanics of Flexible Fibre Assemblies, p. 99-112, 1980; N. H. Mendelson, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 75:2478-2482, 1978). The growth and formation of macrofibers were studied with time-lapse microscopy methods. The basic growth mode consisted of fiber elongation, folding, and the helical wrapping together of the folded portion into a tight helical fiber. This sequence was reiterated at both ends of the structure, resulting in terminal loops. Macrofiber growth was accompanied by the helical turning of the structure along its long axis. Right-handed structures turned clockwise and left-handed ones turned counterclockwise when viewed along the length of a fiber looking toward a loop end. Helical turning forced the individual cellular filaments into a close-packing arrangement during growth. Tension was evident within the structures and they writhed as they elongated. Tension was relieved by folding, which occurred when writhing became so violent that the structure touched itself, forming a loop. When the multistranded structure produced by repeated folding cycles became too rigid for additional folding, the morphogenesis of a ball-like structure began. The dynamics of helical macrofiber formation was interpreted in terms of stress-strain deformations. In view of the similarities between macrofiber structures and those found in multifilament yarns and cables, the physics of helical macrofiber structure and also growth may be suitable for analysis developed in these fields concerning the mechanics of flexible fiber assemblies (C. P. Buckley; J. W. S. Hearle; and J. J. Thwaites, in J. W. S. Hearle et al., ed., The Mechanics of Flexible Fibre Assemblies, p. 1-97, 1980).     

Regulation of polyglutamic acid synthesis by glutamate in Bacillus licheniformis and Bacillus subtilis

The synthesis of polyglutamic acid (PGA) was repressed by exogenous glutamate in strains of Bacillus licheniformis but not in strains of Bacillus subtilis, indicating a clear difference in the regulation of synthesis of capsular slime in these two species. Although extracellular gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase (GGT) activity was always present in PGA-producing cultures of B. licheniformis under various growth conditions, there was no correlation between the quantity of PGA and enzyme activity. Moreover, the synthesis of PGA in the absence of detectable GGT activity in B. subtilis S317 indicated that this enzyme was not involved in PGA biosynthesis in this bacterium. Glutamate repression of PGA biosynthesis may offer a simple means of preventing unwanted slime production in industrial fermentations using B. licheniformis.     

Regulation of leucine biosynthesis in Bacillus subtilis

The biosynthesis of alpha-isopropylmalate (alphaIPM) synthetase, IPM isomerase, and betaIPM dehydrogenase in Bacillus subtilis can be derepressed in leucine auxotrophs by limiting them for leucine. The derepression of the three enzymes is apparently coordinate. A class of mutants resistant to 4-azaleucine excretes leucine and has derepressed levels of all three enzymes. The azaleucine-resistance mutations may lie in a gene (azlA) encoding a repressor. Efforts to find mutations characteristic of a constitutive operator have been unsuccessful. No polar mutations have been found among nine leucine auxotrophs that have characteristics of frameshift mutations. The enzyme catalyzing the first step in leucine biosynthesis, alphaIPM synthetase, is sensitive to feedback inhibition by leucine. We conclude that leucine biosynthesis is controlled by the inhibition of the activity of the first biosynthetic enzyme by leucine, and by the repression of the synthesis of the first three biosynthetic enzymes by leucine. The repression of the three enzymes may be under the control of a single repressor and a single operator, or of a single repressor and a separate operator for each structural gene.     

Regulation of two aspartokinases in Bacillus subtilis

When grown on minimal glucose medium, transformable Bacillus subtilis strains contained two distinct aspartokinases (ATP:l-aspartate 4-phosphotransferase, EC 2.7.2.4). One of these enzymes was inhibited by l-lysine (Lys), whereas the other was insensitive to inhibition but was activated by l-leucine. None of the other amino acids tested had any effect, and the addition of l-threonine did not enhance the inhibition by Lys, in contrast to the concerted inhibition observed for other bacilli. At the end of exponential growth, the Lys-sensitive aspartokinase activity decreased, whereas the Lys-insensitive activity remained relatively constant throughout the stationary phase. The two activities were separated by (NH(4))(2)SO(4) fractionation and Sephadex G-200 chromatography. Growth in the presence of Lys reduced the specific activity of aspartokinase by about 50% and eliminated the inhibition by Lys. In extracts of these cells, only Lys-insensitive activity was found upon (NH(4))(2)SO(4) fractionation and Sephadex G-200 chromatography. Lys apparently repressed the synthesis of the Lys-sensitive enzyme.