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Protein phosphorylation regulates a large variety of biological processes in all living cells. In pathogenic bacteria, the study of serine, threonine, and tyrosine (Ser/Thr/Tyr) phosphorylation has shed light on the course of infectious diseases, from adherence to host cells to pathogen virulence, replication, and persistence. Mass spectrometry (MS)‐based phosphoproteomics has provided global maps of Ser/Thr/Tyr phosphosites in bacterial pathogens. Despite recent developments, a quantitative and dynamic view of phosphorylation events that occur during bacterial pathogenesis is currently lacking. Temporal, spatial, and subpopulation resolution of phosphorylation data is required to identify key regulatory nodes underlying bacterial pathogenesis. Herein, we discuss how technological improvements in sample handling, MS instrumentation, data processing, and machine learning should improve bacterial phosphoproteomic datasets and the information extracted from them. Such information is expected to significantly extend the current knowledge of Ser/Thr/Tyr phosphorylation in pathogenic bacteria and should ultimately contribute to the design of novel strategies to combat bacterial infections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbrB is a global gene regulator involved in transition phase phenomena in B acillus subtilis. It participates in a complex regulatory network governing the expression of stationary-phase functions. AbrB was previously found to be phosphorylated on serine 86 located close to its C-terminal oligomerization domain. Here we report that AbrB can be phosphorylated by three B . subtilis serine/threonine kinases expressed during the transition and stationary phase: PrkC, PrkD and YabT. Our in vitro findings suggest that AbrB phosphorylation impedes its DNA binding and abolishes binding cooperativity. In vivo we established that a phospho-mimetic mutation abrB S86 D leads to a significant loss of AbrB control over several key target functions: exoprotease production, competence development and sporulation. A wider transcriptome analysis of abrB S86 D and S86 A mutant strains revealed deregulation of a large number of target genes. We therefore propose that AbrB phosphorylation serves as an additional input for fine-tuning the activity of this ambiactive gene regulator. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bacillus subtilis BY-kinase PtkA was previously shown to phosphorylate, and thereby regulate the activity of two classes of protein substrates: UDP-glucose dehydrogenases and single-stranded DNA-binding proteins. Our recent phosphoproteome study identified nine new tyrosine-phosphorylated proteins in B. subtilis. We found that the majority of these proteins could be phosphorylated by PtkA in vitro. Among these new substrates, single-stranded DNA exonuclease YorK, and aspartate semialdehyde dehydrogenase Asd were activated by PtkA-dependent phosphorylation. Because enzyme activity was not affected in other cases, we used fluorescent protein tags to study the impact of PtkA on localization of these proteins in vivo. For several substrates colocalization with PtkA was observed, and more importantly, the localization pattern of the proteins enolase, YjoA, YnfE, YvyG, Ugd and SsbA was dramatically altered in Δ ptkA background. Our results confirm that PtkA can control enzyme activity of its substrates in some cases, but also reveal a new mode of action for PtkA, namely ensuring correct cellular localization of its targets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]