Role of the yxkO gene of Bacillus subtilis in responce to environmental stress.

ROLE OF THE YXKO GENE OF BACILLUS SUBTILIS IN RESPONCE TO ENVIRONMENTAL STRESS Abstract Mutation of the yxkO gene, which encodes a putative ribokinase and belongs to the σB general stress response regulon, leads to reduced salt tolerance under potassium limitation in Bacillus subtilis. The biological function of the yxkO gene has not been determined yet, but it may be involved in the high affinity potassium uptake system, which has been described in Escherichia coli in contrast to Bacillus subtilis. Our goal was to describe another features of a mutant in the yxkO gene and to try to propose the role of this gene. Using the integration vector pMutin4, we prepared a Bacillus subtilis strain MP2 with a yxkO gene inactivation. The MP2 strain displays limited growth in a rich medium and it is a sensitive strain to tetracycline. Furthermore, this strain is unable to form endospores and the cells are longer, which indicates a septum formation defect. We accomplished a 2-D protein gel analysis to compare expression profiles of the MP2 strain and the 1A680 standard strain after salt and ethanol stress. The MP2 strain shows changes in productions of some energy metabolism enzymes and flagellin protein. We conclude that yxkO is a regulatory gene, whose product has a pleiotropic effect on many of cell functions