EpsC

• Description: UDP-sugar epimerase, required for extracellular polysaccharide synthesis, this gene is inactive in B. subtilis 168
  
  

Gene name	epsC
Synonyms	yveM
Essential	no
Product	unknown
Function	biofilm formation
Gene expression levels in SubtiExpress: epsC
Regulation of this protein in SubtiPathways: epsC
MW, pI	66 kDa, 8.775
Gene length, protein length	1794 bp, 598 aa
Immediate neighbours	epsD, epsB
Sequences	Protein DNA DNA_with_flanks
Genetic context This image was kindly provided by SubtiList
Expression at a glance   PubMed

Categories containing this gene/protein

biofilm formation, membrane proteins

This gene is a member of the following regulons

AbrB regulon, EAR riboswitch, RemA regulon, SinR regulon

The gene

Basic information

• Locus tag: BSU34350

Database entries

• BsubCyc: BSU34350

• DBTBS entry: [1]

• SubtiList entry: [2]

Additional information

• Correction of sfp, epsC, swrAA, and degQ as well as introduction of rapP from a plasmid present in NCIB3610 results in biofilm formation in B. subtilis 168 PubMed

The protein

Basic information/ Evolution

• Catalyzed reaction/ biological activity:

• Protein family: polysaccharide synthase family (according to Swiss-Prot)

• Paralogous protein(s): SpsM (YodU, YpqP)

Extended information on the protein

• Kinetic information:

• Domains:

• Modification:

• Cofactor(s):

• Effectors of protein activity:

• Interactions:

• Localization: cell membrane (according to Swiss-Prot)

Database entries

• BsubCyc: BSU34350

• Structure:

• UniProt: P71052

• KEGG entry: [3]

• E.C. number:

Expression and regulation

• Operon: epsA-epsB-epsC-epsD-epsE-epsF-epsG-epsH-epsI-epsJ-epsK-epsL-epsM-epsN-epsO PubMed

• Expression browser: epsC PubMed

• Sigma factor: SigA PubMed

• Regulation:
  • repressed by SinR PubMed

• Regulatory mechanism:
  • SinR: transcription anti-activation (prevents binding of RemA) PubMed
  • RemA: transcription activation PubMed
  • AbrB: transcription repression PubMed

• Additional information:
  • induction by sequestration of SinR by SinI or SlrA PubMed
  • the EAR riboswitch (eps-associated RNA switch) located between epsB and epsC mediates processive antitermination and allows expression of the long eps operon PubMed
  • the epsA-epsB-epsC-epsD-epsE-epsF-epsG-epsH-epsI-epsJ-epsK-epsL-epsM-epsN-epsO operon is not expressed in a ymdB mutant PubMed
  • the amount of the mRNA is substantially decreased upon depletion of RNase Y (this is likely due to the increased stability of the sinR mRNA) PubMed

Biological materials

• Mutant:

• Expression vector:

• lacZ fusion:

• GFP fusion:

• two-hybrid system:

• Antibody:

Labs working on this gene/protein

Richard Losick, Harvard Univ., Cambridge, USA homepage

References

Original publications

The EAR RNA switch

Irnov Irnov, Wade C Winkler
A regulatory RNA required for antitermination of biofilm and capsular polysaccharide operons in Bacillales.
Mol Microbiol: 2010, 76(3);559-75
[PubMed:20374491] [WorldCat.org] [DOI] (I p)

Zasha Weinberg, Joy X Wang, Jarrod Bogue, Jingying Yang, Keith Corbino, Ryan H Moy, Ronald R Breaker
Comparative genomics reveals 104 candidate structured RNAs from bacteria, archaea, and their metagenomes.
Genome Biol: 2010, 11(3);R31
[PubMed:20230605] [WorldCat.org] [DOI] (I p)

Regulation of the eps operon

Jared T Winkelman, Anna C Bree, Ashley R Bate, Patrick Eichenberger, Richard L Gourse, Daniel B Kearns
RemA is a DNA-binding protein that activates biofilm matrix gene expression in Bacillus subtilis.
Mol Microbiol: 2013, 88(5);984-97
[PubMed:23646920] [WorldCat.org] [DOI] (I p)

Christine Diethmaier, Nico Pietack, Katrin Gunka, Christoph Wrede, Martin Lehnik-Habrink, Christina Herzberg, Sebastian Hübner, Jörg Stülke
A novel factor controlling bistability in Bacillus subtilis: the YmdB protein affects flagellin expression and biofilm formation.
J Bacteriol: 2011, 193(21);5997-6007
[PubMed:21856853] [WorldCat.org] [DOI] (I p)

Martin Lehnik-Habrink, Marc Schaffer, Ulrike Mäder, Christine Diethmaier, Christina Herzberg, Jörg Stülke
RNA processing in Bacillus subtilis: identification of targets of the essential RNase Y.
Mol Microbiol: 2011, 81(6);1459-73
[PubMed:21815947] [WorldCat.org] [DOI] (I p)

Onuma Chumsakul, Hiroki Takahashi, Taku Oshima, Takahiro Hishimoto, Shigehiko Kanaya, Naotake Ogasawara, Shu Ishikawa
Genome-wide binding profiles of the Bacillus subtilis transition state regulator AbrB and its homolog Abh reveals their interactive role in transcriptional regulation.
Nucleic Acids Res: 2011, 39(2);414-28
[PubMed:20817675] [WorldCat.org] [DOI] (I p)

Kazuo Kobayashi
SlrR/SlrA controls the initiation of biofilm formation in Bacillus subtilis.
Mol Microbiol: 2008, 69(6);1399-410
[PubMed:18647168] [WorldCat.org] [DOI] (I p)

Yunrong Chai, Frances Chu, Roberto Kolter, Richard Losick
Bistability and biofilm formation in Bacillus subtilis.
Mol Microbiol: 2008, 67(2);254-63
[PubMed:18047568] [WorldCat.org] [DOI] (P p)

Frances Chu, Daniel B Kearns, Steven S Branda, Roberto Kolter, Richard Losick
Targets of the master regulator of biofilm formation in Bacillus subtilis.
Mol Microbiol: 2006, 59(4);1216-28
[PubMed:16430695] [WorldCat.org] [DOI] (P p)

Daniel B Kearns, Frances Chu, Steven S Branda, Roberto Kolter, Richard Losick
A master regulator for biofilm formation by Bacillus subtilis.
Mol Microbiol: 2005, 55(3);739-49
[PubMed:15661000] [WorldCat.org] [DOI] (P p)

Other original publications

Anna L McLoon, Sarah B Guttenplan, Daniel B Kearns, Roberto Kolter, Richard Losick
Tracing the domestication of a biofilm-forming bacterium.
J Bacteriol: 2011, 193(8);2027-34
[PubMed:21278284] [WorldCat.org] [DOI] (I p)