Transcriptional control of membrane lipid synthesis in bacteria.

Fatty acid synthesis is coordinately regulated with phospholipid, macromolecular synthesis and growth as part of the response to changes in the environment. Many of these processes are rapid responses of the integrated biochemical network and do not involve changes in gene expression. An important recent development is the identification and characterization of transcription factors that modify pathway activity by either altering the expression levels of a few important genes or controlling a global adjustment in the expression of the entire pathway. For most of these transcription factors the signaling molecules controlling their activities are still poorly defined.