Understanding the roles of dksA and greA in inorganic polyphosphate accumulation in Escherichia coli

Inorganic polyphosphate (polyP) is synthesized by bacteria in response to various stresses, but the mechanism of its regulation is unknown. Mutants of Escherichia coli lacking the RNA polymerase-binding transcription factor dksA are defective in polyP synthesis after a nutrient limitation stress, and this defect is reversed in a dksA greA mutant. In this work, we used RNA sequencing to compare transcription in wild-type, dksA, and dksA greA strains of E. coli before and after nutrient limitation, to identify genes whose expression pattern correlates with ability to synthesize polyP. Overall design: In this work, we used RNA sequencing to compare transcription in wild-type, dksA, and dksA greA strains of E. coli before and after nutrient limitation, to identify genes whose expression pattern correlates with ability to synthesize polyP.