Precise Deletion of
tagD
and Controlled Depletion of Its Product, Glycerol 3-Phosphate Cytidylyltransferase, Leads to Irregular Morphology and Lysis of
Bacillus subtilis
Grown at Physiological Temperature
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abstract
ABSTRACT
Using a previously reported conditional expression system for use in
Bacillus subtilis
(A. P. Bhavsar, X. Zhao, and E. D. Brown, Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 67:403–410, 2001), we report the first precise deletion of a teichoic acid biosynthesis (
tag
) gene,
tagD,
in
B. subtilis
. This teichoic acid mutant showed a lethal phenotype when characterized at a physiological temperature and in a defined genetic background. This
tagD
mutant was subject to full phenotypic rescue upon expression of the complementing copy of
tagD.
Depletion of the
tagD
gene product (glycerol 3-phosphate cytidylyltransferase) via modulated expression of
tagD
from the
amyE
locus revealed structural defects centered on shape, septation, and division. Thickening of the wall and ultimately lysis followed these events.
