32nd Annual Student Research Conference
YisR Regulates Growth and Sporulation in Bacillus subtilis
Sarah M. Connolly* and Natalie A. Schodl
Dr. Joyce Patrick, Faculty Mentor
Past research suggests that yisR, an AraC family transcriptional regulator, allows Bacillus subtilis to continue growing under nutrient-deficient conditions (unpublished data). In order to further understand the function of yisR and its phenotypic effects on B. subtilis growth, yisR was knocked out of the B. subtilis genome and the mutant versus the wild type strain were assayed under nutrient-rich and nutrient-deficient conditions. The mutant strain exhibited decreased growth only under nutrient-deficient conditions compared to the wild type. When starved for nutrients or under physiological stress, a subset of the B. subtilis population forms highly resistant endospores. We hypothesized that yisR mutants would form endospores more frequently than wild type. The mutant exhibited a higher percent of sporulation than the wild type. This suggests that yisR has a role in prolonging the time until the bacteria must sporulate and is a potential genetic regulator of sporulation.
Keywords: Bacillus subtilis, Regulator, Sporulation
Topic(s):Biology
Presentation Type: Poster
Session: 8-13
Location: SUB GEO
Time: 3:00