Trehalose synthesis genes are controlled by the putative sigma factor encoded by rpoS and are involved in stationary-phase thermotolerance in Escherichia coli.

The rpoS (katF) gene of Escherichia coli encodes a putative sigma factor (sigma S) required for the expression of a variety of stationary phase-induced genes, for the development of stationary-phase stress resistance, and for long-term starvation survival (R. Lange and R. Hengge-Aronis, Mol. Microbiol. 5:49-59, 1991). Here we show that the genes otsA, otsB, treA, and osmB, previously known to be osmotically regulated, are also induced during transition into stationary phase in a sigma S-dependent manner. otsA and otsB, which encode trehalose-6-phosphate synthase and trehalose-6-phosphate phosphatase, respectively, are involved in sigma S-dependent stationary-phase thermotolerance. Neither sigma S nor trehalose, however, is required for the development of adaptive thermotolerance in growing cells, which might be controlled by sigma E.