Daptomycin versus Friulimicin B: in-depth profiling of Bacillus subtilis cell envelope stress responses

The related lipo(depsi)peptide antibiotics daptomycin and friulimicin B show great potential in the treatment of multiply resistant gram-positive pathogens. Applying genome-wide in-depth expression profiling, we compared the respective stress responses of Bacillus subtilis. Both antibiotics target envelope integrity, based on the strong induction of extracytoplasmic function sigma factor-dependent gene expression. The cell envelope stress-sensing two-component system LiaRS is exclusively and strongly induced by daptomycin, indicative of different mechanisms of action in the two compounds.