Abstract 2386 Pre-activation of the stringent response increases salt tolerance in Escherichia coli

In Escherichia coli, amino acid starvation triggers production of the signaling molecule (p)ppGpp, which induces the stringent response by binding to RNA polymerase to alter gene transcription to favor conservation of resources. Many mutations in the RNA polymerase genes have been isolated that confer stringent-like phenotypes even in the absence of (p)ppGpp. Here, we report a novel stringent-like mutation, rpoB58, in the beta subunit of RNA polymerase that also confers significant tolerance to salt stress.