Bistability in bacteria

Molecular Microbiology

Volumn 61, Issue 3, 2006, Pages 564-572

  Dubnau, David ^a   Losick, Richard ^b,c  

^a PUBLIC HEALTH RESEARCH INSTITUTE   (United States)

^b HARVARD UNIVERSITY   (United States)

^c UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

ANTIBIOTIC AGENT; PENICILLIN G;

ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANCE; BACILLUS SUBTILIS; BACTERIAL SURVIVAL; BACTERIUM; CANNIBALISM; CELL FUNCTION; CELL POPULATION; ESCHERICHIA COLI; EVOLUTION; GENE EXPRESSION; GENETIC HETEROGENEITY; GENETIC STABILITY; NONHUMAN; PHENOTYPE; PRIORITY JOURNAL; SALMONELLA TYPHIMURIUM; SHORT SURVEY; SPOROGENESIS; STAPHYLOCOCCUS; SWIMMING;

ANTI-BACTERIAL AGENTS; BACILLUS SUBTILIS; BACTERIA; BACTERIAL PHYSIOLOGY; DRUG RESISTANCE, BACTERIAL; ESCHERICHIA COLI; GENE EXPRESSION REGULATION, BACTERIAL; GENETICS, POPULATION; GENOMIC INSTABILITY; SPORES, BACTERIAL;

BACILLUS SUBTILIS; ESCHERICHIA COLI;

EID: 33748058888     PISSN: 0950382X     EISSN: 13652958     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2958.2006.05249.x     Document Type: Short Survey

References (40)

1. Balaban, N.Q., Merrin, J., Chait, R., Kowalik, L., and Leibler, S. (2004) Bacterial persistence as a phenotypic switch. Science 305: 1622-1625.
2. Becskei, A., Seraphin, B., and Serrano, L. (2001) Positive feedback in eukaryotic gene networks: cell differentiation by graded to binary response conversion. EMBO J 20: 2528-2535.
3. Bigger, J. (1944) Treatment of staphylococcal infections with penicillin. Lancet ii: 497-500.
4. Burbulys, D., Trach, K.A., and Hoch, J.A. (1991) Initiation of sporulation in B. subtilis is controlled by a multicomponent phosphorelay. Cell 64: 545-552.
5. Chen, I., Christie, P.J., and Dubnau, D. (2005) The ins and outs of DNA transfer in bacteria. Science 310: 1456-1460.
6. Chung, J.D., Stephanopoulos, G., Ireton, K., and Grossman, A.D. (1994) Gene expression in single cells of Bacillus subtilis: evidence that a threshold mechanism controls the initiation of sporulation. J Bacteriol 176: 1977-1984.
7. Ferrell, J.E., Jr (2002) Self-perpetuating states in signal transduction: positive feedback, double-negative feedback and bistability. Curr Opin Cell Biol 14: 140-148.
8. Fujita, M., and Losick, R. (2003) The master regulator for entry into sporulation in Bacillus subtilis becomes a cell-specific transcription factor after asymmetric division. Genes Dev 17: 1166-1174.
9. Fujita, M., and Losick, R. (2005) Evidence that entry into sporulation in Bacillus subtilis is governed by a gradual increase in the level and activity of the master regulator Spo0A. Genes Dev 19: 2236-2244.
10. Gardner, T.S., Cantor, C.R., and Collins, J.J. (2000) Construction of a genetic toggle switch in Escherichia coli. Nature 403: 339-342.
11. Gonzalez-Pastor, J.E., Hobbs, E.C., and Losick, R. (2003) Cannibalism by sporulating bacteria. Science 301: 510-513.
12. Hahn, J., Kong, L., and Dubnau, D. (1994) The regulation of competence transcription factor synthesis constitutes a critical control point in the regulation of competence in Bacillus subtilis. J Bacteriol 176: 5753-5761.
13. Hamoen, L.W., Van Werkhoven, A.F., Bijlsma, J.J.E., Dubnau, D., and Venema, G. (1998) The competence transcription factor of Bacillus subtilis recognizes short A/T-rich sequences arranged in a unique, flexible pattern along the DNA helix. Genes Dev 12: 1539-1550.
14. Hamoen, L.W., Van Werkhoven, A.F., Venema, G., and Dubnau, D. (2000) The pleiotropic response regulator DegU functions as a priming protein in competence development in Bacillus subtilis. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 97: 9246-9251.
15. Hamoen, L.W., Kausche, D., Marahiel, M.A., Sinderen, D.V., Venema, G., and Serror, P. (2003) The Bacillus subtilis transition state regulator AbrB binds to the -35 promoter region of comK. FEMS Microbiol Lett 218: 299-304.
16. Hoa, T.T., Tortosa, P., Albano, M., and Dubnau, D. (2002) Rok (YkuW) regulates genetic competence in Bacillus subtilis by directly repressing comK. Mol Microbiol 43: 15-26.
17. Johnston, R.J., Jr, Chang, S., Etchberger, J.F., Ortiz, C.O., and Hobert, O. (2005) MicroRNAs acting in a double-negative feedback loop to control a neuronal cell fate decision. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 102: 12449-12454.
18. Kearns, D.B., and Losick, R. (2005) Cell population heterogeneity during growth of Bacillus subtilis. Genes Dev 19: 3083-3094.
19. Kearns, D.B., Chu, F., Rudner, R., and Losick, R. (2004) Genes governing swarming in Bacillus subtilis and evidence for a phase variation mechanism controlling surface motility. Mol Microbiol 52: 357-369.
20. Keren, I., Shah, D., Spoering, A., Kaldalu, N., and Lewis, K. (2004) Specialized persister cells and the mechanism of multidrug tolerance in Escherichia coli. J Bacteriol 186: 8172-8180.
21. Kussell, E., and Leibler, S. (2005) Phenotypic diversity, population growth, and information in fluctuating environments. Science 309: 2075-2078.
22. Maamar, H., and Dubnau, D. (2005) Bistability in the Bacillus subtilis K-state (competence) system requires a positive feedback loop. Mol Microbiol 56: 615-624.
23. Magnuson, R., Solomon, J., and Grossman, A.D. (1994) Biochemical and genetic characterization of a competence pheromone from B. subtilis. Cell 77: 207-216.
24. Margot, P., Pagni, M., and Karamata, D. (1999) Bacillus subtilis 168 gene lytF encodes a gamma-D-glutamate-meso-diaminopimelate muropeptidase expressed by the alternative vegetative sigma factor, sigmaD. Microbiology 145: 57-65.
25. Mirel, D.B., and Chamberlin, M.J. (1989) The Bacillus subtilis flagellin gene (hag) is transcribed by the sigma 28 form of RNA polymerase. J Bacteriol 171: 3095-3101.
26. Moxon, E.R., Rainey, P.B., Nowak, M.A., and Lenski, R.E. (1994) Adaptive evolution of highly mutable loci in pathogenic bacteria. Curr Biol 4: 24-33.
27. Moyed, H.S., and Bertrand, K.P. (1983) hipA, a newly recognized gene of Escherichia coli K-12 that affects frequency of persistence after inhibition of murein synthesis. J Bacteriol 155: 768-775.
28. Ptashne, M. (2004) A Genetic Switch. Cold Spring Harbor, NY: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratorry Press.
29. Serror, P., and Sonenshein, A.L. (1996) CodY is required for nutritional repression of Bacillus subtilis genetic competence. J Bacteriol 178: 5910-5915.
30. van Sinderen, D., and Venema, G. (1994) comK acts as an autoregulatory control switch in the signal transduction route to competence in Bacillus subtilis. J Bacteriol 176: 5762-5770.
31. van Sinderen, D., Luttinger, A., Kong, L., Dubnau, D., Venema, G., and Hamoen, L. (1995) comK encodes the competence transcription factor, the key regulatory protein for competence development in Bacillus subtilis. Mol Microbiol 15: 455-462.
32. Skerker, J.M., and Laub, M.T. (2004) Cell-cycle progression and the generation of asymmetry in Caulobacter crescentus. Nat Rev Microbiol 2: 325-337.
33. Smits, W.K., Eschevins, C.C., Susanna, K.A., Bron, S., Kuipers, O.P., and Hamoen, L.W. (2005) Stripping Bacillus: ComK auto-stimulation is responsible for the bistable response in competence development. Mol Microbiol 56: 604-614.
34. Smits, W.K., Kuipers, O.P., and Veening, J.W. (2006) Phenotypic variation in bacteria: the role of feedback regulation. Nat Rev Microbiol 4: 259-271.
35. Storz, G., and Hengge-Aronis, R. (eds) (2000) Bacterial Stress Responses. Washington, DC: American Society for Microbiology Press.
36. Suel, G.M., Garcia-Ojalvo, J., Liberman, L.M., and Elowitz, M.B. (2006) An excitable gene regulatory circuit induces transient cellular differentiation. Nature 440: 545-550.
37. Swain, P.S., Elowitz, M.B., and Siggia, E.D. (2002) Intrinsic and extrinsic contributions to stochasticity in gene expression. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 99: 12795-12800.
38. Turgay, K., Hahn, J., Burghoorn, J., and Dubnau, D. (1998) Competence in Bacillus subtilis is controlled by regulated proteolysis of a transcription factor. EMBO J 17: 6730-6738.
39. Veening, J.W., Hamoen, L.W., and Kuipers, O.P. (2005) Phosphatases modulate the bistable sporulation gene expression pattern in Bacillus subtilis. Mol Microbiol 56: 1481-1494.
40. Zieg, J., Silverman, M., Hilmen, M., and Simon, M. (1977) Recombinational switch for gene expression. Science 196: 170-172.