Profiling of Brevibacillus borstelensis transcriptome exposed to high temperature shock

To understand the molecular mechanisms underlying the ability of the bacteria to survive at high temperature, gene expression profile of Brevibacillus borstelensis at 55 °C during 5 and 10 min heat shock period was carried out by high-throughput sequencing technology. A total of 2555 non-redundant transcripts were annotated. A total of 575 genes at 5 min and 400 genes at 10 min exhibited significant differential expression in response to temperature upshift from 50 to 55 °C. Genes up-regulated under heat shock were associated with metabolism (mtnE), membrane transport, signal transduction, transcriptional regulation (ycxD, codY) and folding and sorting (hsp90). A larger number of genes encoding hypothetical proteins were identified. RT-PCR experimental results carried out on genes expressed under heat shock were found to be consistent with transcriptome data. The results enhance our understanding of adaptation strategy of thermophilic bacteria thereby providing a strong background for in depth research in thermophiles.