Skip to content Skip to navigation
University of Warwick
  • Study
  • |
  • Research
  • |
  • Business
  • |
  • Alumni
  • |
  • News
  • |
  • About

University of Warwick
Publications service & WRAP

Highlight your research

  • WRAP
    • Home
    • Search WRAP
    • Browse by Warwick Author
    • Browse WRAP by Year
    • Browse WRAP by Subject
    • Browse WRAP by Department
    • Browse WRAP by Funder
    • Browse Theses by Department
  • Publications Service
    • Home
    • Search Publications Service
    • Browse by Warwick Author
    • Browse Publications service by Year
    • Browse Publications service by Subject
    • Browse Publications service by Department
    • Browse Publications service by Funder
  • Help & Advice
University of Warwick

The Library

  • Login
  • Admin

The unconventional cytoplasmic sensing mechanism for ethanol chemotaxis in Bacillus subtilis

Tools
- Tools
+ Tools

Tohidifar, Payman , Bodhankar,, Girija , Pei, Sichong, Cassidy, C. Keith, Walukiewicz, Hanna , Orodal, George , Stansfeld, Phillip J. and Rao, Christopher (2020) The unconventional cytoplasmic sensing mechanism for ethanol chemotaxis in Bacillus subtilis. mBio, 11 . e02177-20. doi:10.1128/mBio.02177-20 ISSN 2150-7511.

[img]
Preview
PDF
WRAP-unconventional-cytoplasmic-sensing-mechanism-ethanol-chemotaxis-Bacillus-Stansfeld-2020.pdf - Published Version - Requires a PDF viewer.
Available under License Creative Commons Attribution 4.0.

Download (2630Kb) | Preview
[img]
Preview
PDF
WRAP-unconventional-cytoplasmic-sensing-mechanism-ethanol-chemotaxis-Bacillus-Stansfeld-2020.pdf - Accepted Version - Requires a PDF viewer.

Download (2232Kb) | Preview
Official URL: https://doi.org/10.1128/mBio.02177-20

Request Changes to record.

Abstract

Motile bacteria sense chemical gradients using chemoreceptors, which consist of distinct sensing and signaling domains. The general model is that the sensing domain binds the chemical and the signaling domain induces the tactic response. Here, we investigated the unconventional sensing mechanism for ethanol taxis in Bacillus subtilis. Ethanol and other short-chain alcohols are attractants for B. subtilis. Two chemoreceptors, McpB and HemAT, sense these alcohols. In the case of McpB, the signaling domain directly binds ethanol. We were further able to identify a single amino-acid residue Ala431 on the cytoplasmic signaling domain of McpB, that when mutated to a serine, reduces taxis to ethanol. Molecular dynamics simulations suggest ethanol binds McpB near residue Ala431 and mutation of this residue to serine increases coiled-coil packing within the signaling domain, thereby reducing the ability of ethanol to bind between the helices of the signaling domain. In the case of HemAT, the myoglobin-like sensing domain binds ethanol, likely between the helices encapsulating the heme group. Aside from being sensed by an unconventional mechanism, ethanol also differs from many other chemoattractants because it is not metabolized by B. subtilis and is toxic. We propose that B. subtilis uses ethanol and other short-chain alcohols to locate prey, namely alcohol-producing microorganisms.

Item Type: Journal Article
Alternative Title:
Subjects: Q Science > QP Physiology
Q Science > QR Microbiology
Q Science > QR Microbiology > QR180 Immunology
Divisions: Faculty of Science, Engineering and Medicine > Science > Chemistry
Faculty of Science, Engineering and Medicine > Science > Life Sciences (2010- )
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): Bacillus subtilis, Chemotaxis, Chemoreceptors, Cytoplasm, Molecular dynamics -- Simulation methods
Journal or Publication Title: mBio
Publisher: American Society for Microbiology
ISSN: 2150-7511
Official Date: 6 October 2020
Dates:
DateEvent
6 October 2020Published
8 September 2020Accepted
Volume: 11
Article Number: e02177-20
DOI: 10.1128/mBio.02177-20
Status: Peer Reviewed
Publication Status: Published
Access rights to Published version: Open Access (Creative Commons)
Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2020 Tohidifar et al
Date of first compliant deposit: 30 September 2020
Date of first compliant Open Access: 5 October 2020
RIOXX Funder/Project Grant:
Project/Grant IDRIOXX Funder NameFunder ID
GM054365National Institutes of Healthhttp://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100000002
UNSPECIFIEDUniversity of Illinois at Chicagohttp://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100008522
Related URLs:
  • Publisher
Open Access Version:
  • bioRxiv

Request changes or add full text files to a record

Repository staff actions (login required)

View Item View Item

Downloads

Downloads per month over past year

View more statistics

twitter

Email us: wrap@warwick.ac.uk
Contact Details
About Us