AUTHOR=Yan Fang , Yu Yiyang , Wang Luyao , Luo Yuming , Guo Jian-hua , Chai Yunrong 

TITLE=The comER Gene Plays an Important Role in Biofilm Formation and Sporulation in both Bacillus subtilis and Bacillus cereus

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology

VOLUME=7

YEAR=2016

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2016.01025

DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2016.01025

ISSN=1664-302X

ABSTRACT=<p>Bacteria adopt alternative cell fates during development. In <italic>Bacillus subtilis</italic>, the transition from planktonic growth to biofilm formation and sporulation is controlled by a complex regulatory circuit, in which the most important event is activation of Spo0A, a transcription factor and a master regulator for genes involved in both biofilm formation and sporulation. In <italic>B. cereus</italic>, the regulatory pathway controlling biofilm formation and cell differentiation is much less clear. In this study, we show that a novel gene, <italic>comER</italic>, plays a significant role in biofilm formation as well as sporulation in both <italic>B. subtilis</italic> and <italic>B. cereus</italic>. Mutations in the <italic>comER</italic> gene result in defects in biofilm formation and a delay in spore formation in the two <italic>Bacillus</italic> species. Our evidence supports the idea that <italic>comER</italic> may be part of the regulatory circuit that controls Spo0A activation. <italic>comER</italic> likely acts upstream of <italic>sda</italic>, a gene encoding a small checkpoint protein for both sporulation and biofilm formation, by blocking the phosphor-relay and thereby Spo0A activation. In summary, our studies outlined a conserved, positive role for <italic>comER</italic>, a gene whose function was previously uncharacterized, in the regulation of biofilm formation and sporulation in the two <italic>Bacillus</italic> species.</p>