Project description:To compare the transcriptional effects of replication arrest that are dependent on YabA we compared the transcriptional profiles of yabA null and yabA+ cells after treatment with the replication inhibitor HPUra. To avoid secondary effects of replication overinitiation that the yabA-null strain exhibits, we did all experiments in oriC-null cells
Project description:This project is about the proteomes of wild type cells (WT) and spo0A-null strain of B. subtilis during exponential growth in mannose medium. B2 & B4 corresponds to the wild type cells (two biological replicate samples) and B6 & B8 corresponds to spo0A-null data (two biological replicate samples).
Project description:Initiation of bacterial DNA replication takes place at the origin of replication (oriC), a region characterized by the presence of multiple DnaA boxes that serve as the binding sites for the master initiator protein DnaA. The absence or failure of DNA replication can result in bacterial cell growth arrest or death. Here, we aimed to uncover the physiological and molecular consequences of stopping replication in the model bacterium Bacillus subtilis. For this purpose, DNA replication was blocked using a CRISPRi approach specifically targeting DnaA boxes 6 and 7, which are essential for replication initiation. We characterized the phenotype of these cells and analyzed the overall changes in the proteome using quantitative mass spectrometry. Cells with arrested replication were elongating and not dividing but showed no evidence of DNA damage response (DDR). Moreover, these cells did not cease translation over time. This study sets the ground for future research on non-replicating but translationally active B. subtilis, which might be valuable for biotechnological applications.
Project description:To investigate the possible genes regulated by the DNA binding protein MraZ The bacterial division and cell wall (dcw) cluster is a highly conserved region of the genome which encodes several essential cell division factors including the central divisome protein FtsZ. Understanding the regulation of this region is key to our overall understanding of the division process. mraZ is found at the 5’ end of the dcw cluster and previous studies have described MraZ as a sequence-specific DNA binding protein. In this article, we investigate MraZ to elucidate its role in Bacillus subtilis. Through our investigation, we demonstrate that increased levels of MraZ result in lethal filamentation due to repression of its own operon (mraZ-mraW-ftsL-pbpB). We observe rescue of filamentation upon decoupling ftsL expression, but not other genes in the operon, from MraZ control. Our data suggests that regulation of the mra operon may be an alternative way for cells to quickly arrest cytokinesis potentially during entry into stationary phase and in the event of DNA replication arrest. Furthermore, through timelapse microscopy we were able to identify that overexpression of mraZ or depletion of FtsL results in de-condensation of the FtsZ ring (Z-ring). Using fluorescent D-amino acid labelling, we also observed that coordinated peptidoglycan insertion at division site is dysregulated in the absence of FtsL. Thus, we reveal the precise role of FtsL is in Z-ring maturation and focusing septal peptidoglycan synthesis.
Project description:Identification of the specific WalR (YycF) binding regions on the B. subtilis chromosome during exponential and phosphate starvation growth phases. The data serves to extend the WalRK regulon in Bacillus subtilis and its role in cell wall metabolism, as well as implying a role in several other cellular processes.