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Breaking through the stress barrier: the role of BolA in Gram-negative survival

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Abstract

The morphogene bolA plays a significant role in the adaptation of Escherichia coli to general stresses. In general, bacteria can thrive and persist under harsh conditions, counteracting external stresses by using varied mechanisms, including biofilm formation, changes in cell shape, size and protein content, together with alterations in the cell wall structure, thickness and permeability. In E. coli, an increased expression of bolA occurs mainly under stress challenges and when bacterial morphology changes from rod-like to spherical. Moreover, BolA is able to induce biofilm formation and changes in the outer membrane, making it less permeable to harmful agents. Although there has been substantial progress in the description of BolA activity, its role on global cell physiology is still incomplete. Proteins with strong homology to BolA have been found in most living organisms, in many cases also exerting a regulatory role. In this review we summarize current knowledge on the role of BolA, mainly in E. coli, and discuss its implication in global regulation in relation to stress.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by grants from Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, Portugal including PTDC/QUI-BIQ/111757/2009, PTDC/BIA-MIC/4142/2012, PEst-OE/EQB/LA0004/2013 and European Comission Grant FP7-KBBE-2011-1-289326. MV acknowledges grant BIO2011-28941-C03-01 from the Spanish Government.

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  1. Patrick Freire

    Present address: Instituto Nacional de Investigação Agrária e Veterinária - INIAV,IP, Estrada de Benfica 701, 1549-011, Lisbon, Portugal

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Apartado 127, 2781-901, Oeiras, Portugal

    Inês Batista Guinote, Ricardo Neves Moreira, Susana Barahona, Patrick Freire & Cecília Maria Arraiano

  2. Centro Nacional de Biotecnología – Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, C/Darwin, 3, 28049, Madrid, Spain

    Miguel Vicente

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  1. Inês Batista Guinote
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  4. Patrick Freire
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  5. Miguel Vicente
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Correspondence to Miguel Vicente or Cecília Maria Arraiano.

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Inês Batista Guinote and Ricardo Neves Moreira have contributed equally to this work.

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Guinote, I.B., Moreira, R.N., Barahona, S. et al. Breaking through the stress barrier: the role of BolA in Gram-negative survival. World J Microbiol Biotechnol 30, 2559–2566 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11274-014-1702-4

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