A Mutation of the RNA Polymerase β′ Subunit (rpoC) Confers Cephalosporin Resistance in Bacillus subtilis

RNA polymerase mutation activates the production of a dormant antibiotic 3,3'-neotrehalosadiamine via an autoinduction mechanism in Bacillus subtilis.

Bacillus and Streptomyces species possess the ability to produce a variety of commercially important metabolites and extracellular enzymes. We previously demonstrated that antibiotic production in Streptomyces coeli-color A3(2) and Streptomyces lividans can be enhanced by RNA polymerase (RNAP) mutations selected for the rifampicin-resistant (Rif(r)) phenotype. Here, we have shown that the intro...

RNA polymerase mutation activates the production of a dormant antibiotic 3, 3’-neotrehalosadiamine via autoinduction mechanism in Bacillus subtilis

Sigma factor displacement from RNA polymerase during Bacillus subtilis sporulation.

As Bacillus subtilis proceeds through sporulation, the principal vegetative cell sigma subunit (sigma(A)) persists in the cell but is replaced in the extractable RNA polymerase (RNAP) by sporulation-specific sigma factors. To explore how this holoenzyme changeover might occur, velocity centrifugation techniques were used in conjunction with Western blot analyses to monitor the associations of R...

A single mutation in poliovirus RNA-dependent RNA polymerase confers resistance to mutagenic nucleotide analogs via increased fidelity.

Ribavirin is a nucleotide analog that can be incorporated by viral polymerases, causing mutations by allowing base mismatches. It is currently used therapeutically as an antiviral drug during hepatitis C virus infections. During the amplification of poliovirus genomic RNA or hepatitis C replicons, error frequency is known to increase upon ribavirin treatment. This observation has led to the hyp...

An immunological assay for the sigma subunit of RNA polymerase in extracts of vegetative and sporulating Bacillus subtilis.

The activity of the sigma subunit of Bacillus subtilis RNA polymerase decreases markedly during the first hours of sporulation [T.G. Linn et al. (1973) Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. USA 70, 1865-1869]. We have prepared antibody against RNA polymerase holoenzyme to determine the fate of sigma polypeptide during spore formation. This antiserum specifically and independently precipitates sigma and core po...