General Stress Transcription Factor ς ^B and Sporulation Transcription Factor ς ^H Each Contribute to Survival of <i>Bacillus subtilis</i> under Extreme Growth Conditions

Abstract

The general stress response of the bacterium Bacillus subtilis is controlled by the sigmaB transcription factor. Here we show that loss of sigmaB reduces stationary-phase viability 10-fold in either alkaline or acidic media and reduces cell yield in media containing ethanol. We further show that loss of the developmental transcription factor sigmaH also has a marked effect on stationary-phase viability under these conditions and that this effect is independent from the simple loss of sporulation ability.