The Bacillus subtilis cell envelope stress-inducible ytpAB operon modulates membrane properties and contributes to bacitracin resistance

Antibiotics that inhibit peptidoglycan synthesis trigger the activation of both specific and general protective responses. {sigma}M responds to diverse antibiotics that inhibit cell wall synthesis. Here, we demonstrate that cell wall inhibiting drugs, such as bacitracin and cefuroxime, induce the {sigma}M-dependent ytpAB operon. YtpA is a predicted hydrolase previously proposed to generate the putative lysophospholipid antibiotic bacilysocin (lysophosphatidylglycerol), and YtpB is the branchpoint enzyme for the synthesis of membrane-localized C35 terpenoids. Using targeted lipidomics we reveal that YtpA is not required for the production of lysophosphatidylglycerol. Nevertheless, ytpA was critical for growth in a mutant strain defective for homeoviscous adaptation due to a lack of genes for the synthesis of branched chain fatty acids and the Des phospholipid desaturase. Consistently, overexpression of ytpA increased membrane fluidity as monitored by fluorescence anisotropy. The ytpA gene contributes to bacitracin resistance in mutants additionally lacking the bceAB or bcrC genes, which directly mediate bacitracin resistance. These epistatic interactions support a model in which {sigma}M-dependent induction of the ytpAB operon helps cells tolerate bacitracin stress, either by facilitating the flipping of the undecaprenyl-phosphate carrier lipid or by impacting the assembly or function of membrane-associated complexes proteins involved in cell wall homeostasis. ImportancePeptidoglycan synthesis inhibitors include some of our most important antibiotics. In Bacillus subtilis, peptidoglycan synthesis inhibitors induce the {sigma}M regulon, which is critical for intrinsic antibiotic resistance. The {sigma}M-dependent ytpAB operon encodes a predicted hydrolase (YtpA) and the enzyme that initiates the synthesis of C35 terpenoids (YtpB). Our results suggest that YtpA is critical in cells defective in homeoviscous adaptation. Further, we find that YtpA functions cooperatively with the BceAB and BcrC proteins in conferring intrinsic resistance to bacitracin, a peptide antibiotic that binds tightly to the UPP lipid carrier that sustains peptidoglycan synthesis.