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The Function and Regulatory Network of WhiB and WhiB-Like Protein from Comparative Genomics and Systems Biology Perspectives

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Abstract

whi genes, named after the mutations turning Streptomyces coelicolor colonies into white, exist largely in Actinomyces and Mycobacterium. whiB genes, a subclass of whi, involve in wide range of events, such as cell division, spore formation, nutrient starvation, pathogenesis, antibiotic resistance, and stress sense. To better understand the role of this family in physiology and pathology in the important pathogen—Mycobacterium tuberculosis, WhiB and WhiB-like proteins function and structures of were bioinformatically dissected. Seven WhiB proteins can be found in M. tuberculosis genome, most are highly conserved. Based on the data mining of published microarray profiling of wild type and mutants transcriptome response to diverse treatments, a regulatory network of whiB is established. Some findings from this network are obvious. WhiB2 and WhiB7 might be key nodes in drug resistance, WhiB3 might involve in the maintenance of redox homeostasis. These works provide new Mycobacterium persistence and virulence hypothesis for future experimental validation.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by National megaproject for key infectious disease (Grant No. 2012ZX10003-003), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (Grant No. XDJK2009A003, XDJK2011D006), National natural science foundation (Grant No. 81071316), Excellent PhD thesis fellowship of southwest university (Grant Nos. kb2010017 and ky2011003), New Century Excellent Talents in Universities (NCET-11-). The authors are grateful for suggestions from Wang Xiao-zhen and Liao Guo-jian.

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  1. Institute of Modern Biopharmaceiticals, State Key Laboratory Breeding Base of Eco-Enviroment and Bio-Resource of the Three Gorges Area, School of Life Sciences, Southwest University, Beibei, Chongqing, 400715, China

    Fei Zheng, Quanxin Long & Jianping Xie

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  1. Fei Zheng
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  2. Quanxin Long
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Correspondence to Jianping Xie.

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Zheng, F., Long, Q. & Xie, J. The Function and Regulatory Network of WhiB and WhiB-Like Protein from Comparative Genomics and Systems Biology Perspectives. Cell Biochem Biophys 63, 103–108 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12013-012-9348-z

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