This family consist of the morphoprotein BolA from E. coli and its various homologues. In E. coli over expression of this protein causes round morphology and may be involved in switching the cell between elongation and septation systems during cell division [1]. The expression of BolA is growth rate regulated and is induced during the transition into the the stationary phase [1]. BolA is also induced by stress during early stages of growth [1] and may have a general role in stress response. It has also been suggested that BolA can induce the transcription of penicillin binding proteins 6 and 5 [2,1].

1: The stationary-phase morphogene bolA from Escherichia coli is induced by stress during early stages of growth. Santos JM, Freire P, Vicente M, Arraiano CM; Mol Microbiol 1999;32:789-798. PMID:10361282

2: Induction of a growth-phase-dependent promoter triggers transcription of bolA, an Escherichia coli morphogene. Aldea M, Garrido T, Hernandez-Chico C, Vicente M, Kushner SR; EMBO J 1989;8:3923-3931. PMID:2684651