Control of key metabolic intersections in Bacillus subtilis

• Published in: Nature reviews. Microbiology Vol. 5; no. 12; pp. 917 - 927
• Main Author: Sonenshein, Abraham L
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Nature Publishing Group 01-12-2007
• Subjects: Bacillus subtilis; Bacillus subtilis - enzymology; Bacillus subtilis - metabolism; Bacteria; Bacterial Proteins - metabolism; Carbon; Carbon - metabolism; Citric Acid Cycle; DNA-Binding Proteins - metabolism; Enzymes; Gene expression; Genetic aspects; Glucose; Glutamic Acid - metabolism; Ketoglutaric Acids - metabolism; Kinases; Metabolism; Metabolites; Microbial metabolism; Nitrogen; Nitrogen - metabolism; Physiological aspects; Properties; Proteins; Pyruvic Acid - metabolism; Repressor Proteins - metabolism; Transcription Factors - metabolism; Virulence; United States
• ISSN: 1740-1526; 1740-1534
• DOI: 10.1038/nrmicro1772

The remarkable ability of bacteria to adapt efficiently to a wide range of nutritional environments reflects their use of overlapping regulatory systems that link gene expression to intracellular pools of a small number of key metabolites. By integrating the activities of global regulators, such as CcpA, CodY and TnrA, Bacillus subtilis manages traffic through two metabolic intersections that determine the flow of carbon and nitrogen to and from crucial metabolites, such as pyruvate, 2-oxoglutarate and glutamate. Here, the latest knowledge on the control of these key intersections in B. subtilis is reviewed.