$re = '/b\d{4}\s[a-zA-Z]{3,4}(-\d)?/m';
$str = 'D b1308 pspE; thiosulfate sulfurtransferase PspE K03972 pspE; phage shock protein E
B 09193 Unclassified: signaling and cellular processes-6
C 99977 Transport
D b2347 yfdC; inner membrane protein YfdC K21990 yfdC; formate-nitrite transporter family protein
D b3657 yicJ; putative xyloside transporter YicJ K03292 TC.GPH; glycoside/pentoside/hexuronide:cation symporter, GPH family
D b3876 yihO; putative sulfoquinovose transporter K03292 TC.GPH; glycoside/pentoside/hexuronide:cation symporter, GPH family
D b0361 insD-1; IS2 element protein K07497 K07497; putative transposase
D b1402 insD-2; IS2 insertion element protein InsB K07497 K07497; putative transposase';
preg_match_all($re, $str, $matches, PREG_SET_ORDER, 0);
// Print the entire match result
var_dump($matches);
Please keep in mind that these code samples are automatically generated and are not guaranteed to work. If you find any syntax errors, feel free to submit a bug report. For a full regex reference for PHP, please visit: http://php.net/manual/en/ref.pcre.php