The Bacillus subtilis putative LysR-type transcriptional regulator YybE and its connection to chromosome replication and segregation

Duplication and segregation of genetic material are vital for cell proliferation. Deletion of DNA replication regulators, such as YabA and ParA, leads to over-initiation of DNA replication. However, the viability of the ΔyabA ΔparA double mutant suggests additional regulatory mechanisms. Using a transposon mutagenesis library, yybE was identified as a potential candidate. Bioinformatic analysis of yybE suggests that it encodes a putative LysR-type transcriptional regulator (LTTR). LTTRs are established regulators of metabolic processes, leading to the hypothesis that YybE might link metabolic processes to DNA replication. However, under the tested conditions, deletion of yybE did not result in detectable changes to DNA replication frequency, origin segregation or chromosome morphology.