Bohorquez LC, de Sousa J, Garcia-Garcia T, Dugar G, Wang B, Jonker MJ, Noirot-Gros MF, Lalk M, Hamoen LW. Metabolic and chromosomal changes in a
Bacillus subtilis whiA mutant.
Microbiol Spectr 2023;
11:e0179523. [PMID:
37916812 PMCID:
PMC10714963 DOI:
10.1128/spectrum.01795-23]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2023] [Accepted: 10/10/2023] [Indexed: 11/03/2023] Open
Abstract
IMPORTANCE
WhiA is a conserved DNA-binding protein that influences cell division in many Gram-positive bacteria and, in B. subtilis, also chromosome segregation. How WhiA works in Bacillus subtilis is unknown. Here, we tested three hypothetical mechanisms using metabolomics, fatty acid analysis, and chromosome confirmation capture experiments. This revealed that WhiA does not influence cell division and chromosome segregation by modulating either central carbon metabolism or fatty acid composition. However, the inactivation of WhiA reduces short-range chromosome interactions. These findings provide new avenues to study the molecular mechanism of WhiA in the future.
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