EpsC
- Description: putative UDP-sugar epimerase, involved in 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: Biofilm | |
| MW, pI | 66 kDa, 8.775 |
| Gene length, protein length | 1794 bp, 598 aa |
| Immediate neighbours | epsD, epsB |
| Get the DNA and protein sequences (Barbe et al., 2009) | |
Genetic context 
This image was kindly provided by SubtiList
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Expression at a glance PubMed
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Contents
Categories containing this gene/protein
biofilm formation, membrane proteins
This gene is a member of the following regulons
AbrB regulon, EAR riboswitch, SinR regulon
The gene
Basic information
- Locus tag: BSU34350
Phenotypes of a mutant
Database entries
- 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):
Extended information on the protein
- Kinetic information:
- Domains:
- Modification:
- Cofactor(s):
- Effectors of protein activity:
- Localization: cell membrane (according to Swiss-Prot)
Database entries
- Structure:
- UniProt: P71052
- KEGG entry: [3]
- E.C. number:
Additional information
Expression and regulation
- 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
Your additional remarks
References
Reviews
Massimiliano Marvasi, Pieter T Visscher, Lilliam Casillas Martinez
Exopolymeric substances (EPS) from Bacillus subtilis: polymers and genes encoding their synthesis.
FEMS Microbiol Lett: 2010, 313(1);1-9
[PubMed:20735481]
[WorldCat.org]
[DOI]
(I p)
Irina Artsimovitch
A processive riboantiterminator seeks a switch to make biofilms.
Mol Microbiol: 2010, 76(3);535-9
[PubMed:20384681]
[WorldCat.org]
[DOI]
(I p)
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
Additional publications: PubMed
Lehnik-Habrink M, Schaffer M, Mäder U, Diethmaier C, Herzberg C, Stülke J RNA processing in Bacillus subtilis: identification of targets of the essential RNase Y. Mol Microbiol. 2011 81(6): 1459-1473. PubMed:21815947
Diethmaier C, Pietack N, Gunka K, Wrede C, Lehnik-Habrink M, Herzberg C, Hübner S, Stülke J 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
Other original publications
