Sensing mechanism of growing environment and survival strategy in bacterial cells.

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Bacterial cells possess sensing mechanism of environmental changes at the end of logarithmic growth phase. We focused on two key enzymes, PlsX and OdhB, and found that these are global regulatory factors connecting several cellular functional networks. Most important finding is that PlsX, an essential lipid synthetic enzyme, has crucial role in cell division machinery and regulating the localization of FtsZ that is a critical protein of division septa. Moreover, PlsX also has functions on stringent control through RelA, an enzyme for ppGpp synthesis and degradation. Alternatively, a TCA cycle enzyme, OdhB, has most significant function in energy production and this aspect has fundamental function on sporulation in Bacillus subtilis. These results demonstrate cooperative networks of bacterial cells responding and dealing with the environmental changes.