Structural Analysis of <i>Bacillus subtilis</i> Sigma Factors

Abstract

Bacteria use an array of sigma factors to regulate gene expression during different stages of their life cycles. Full-length, atomic-level structures of sigma factors have been challenging to obtain experimentally as a result of their many regions of intrinsic disorder. AlphaFold has now supplied plausible full-length models for most sigma factors. Here we discuss the current understanding of the structures and functions of sigma factors in the model organism, Bacillus subtilis, and present an X-ray crystal structure of a region of B. subtilis SigE, a sigma factor that plays a critical role in the developmental process of spore formation.

Keywords

• <i>Bacillus subtilis</i>
• sigma factor
• SigE
• X-ray crystallography
• structure
• Alphafold