scholarly journals Regulation of Expression of the Region 3 Promoter of the Escherichia coli K5 Capsule Gene Cluster Involves H-NS, SlyA, and a Large 5′ Untranslated Region

2008 ◽  
Vol 191 (6) ◽  
pp. 1838-1846 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peng Xue ◽  
David Corbett ◽  
Marie Goldrick ◽  
Clare Naylor ◽  
Ian S. Roberts

ABSTRACT Escherichia coli group 2 capsule gene clusters are temperature regulated, being expressed at 37°C but not at 20°C. Expression is regulated at the level of transcription by two convergent promoters, PR1 and PR3. In this paper, we show that regulation of transcription from PR3 involves a number of novel features including H-NS, SlyA, and a large 741-bp 5′ untranslated region (UTR). H-NS represses transcription from PR3 at 20°C and binds both 5′ and 3′ of the transcription start site. The 3′ downstream regulatory element (DRE) was essential for temperature-dependent H-NS repression. At 37°C, SlyA activates transcription independent of H-NS but maximal transcription requires H-NS. The UTR is present between the transcription start site and the first gene in the operon, kpsM. We demonstrate that the UTR, as well as containing the H-NS DRE, functions to moderate the extent of transcription that reaches kpsM and allows the binding of antitermination factor RfaH.

2003 ◽  
Vol 185 (20) ◽  
pp. 5993-6004 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne M. L. Barnard ◽  
Jeffrey Green ◽  
Stephen J. W. Busby

ABSTRACT FNR is an Escherichia coli transcription factor that regulates the transcription of many genes in response to anaerobiosis. We have constructed a series of artificial FNR-dependent promoters, based on the melR promoter, in which a consensus FNR binding site was centered at position −41.5 relative to the transcription start site. A second consensus FNR binding site was introduced at different upstream locations, and promoter activity was assayed in vivo. FNR can activate transcription from these promoters when the upstream FNR binding site is located at many different positions. However, sharp repression is observed when the upstream-bound FNR is located near positions −85 or −95. This repression is relieved by the FNR G74C substitution mutant, previously identified as being defective in transcription repression at the yfiD promoter. A parallel series of artificial FNR-dependent promoters, carrying a consensus FNR binding site at position −61.5 and a second upstream DNA site for FNR, was also constructed. Again, promoter activity was repressed by FNR when the upstream-bound FNR was located at particular positions.


2008 ◽  
Vol 190 (15) ◽  
pp. 5224-5229 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean Bouvier ◽  
Patrick Stragier ◽  
Violette Morales ◽  
Elisabeth Rémy ◽  
Claude Gutierrez

ABSTRACT The Escherichia coli dapB gene encodes one of the enzymes of the biosynthetic pathway leading to lysine and its immediate precursor, diaminopimelate. Expression of dapB is repressed by lysine, but no trans-acting regulator has been identified so far. Our analysis of the dapB regulatory region shows that sequences located in the −81/−118 interval upstream of the transcription start site are essential for full expression of dapB, as well as for lysine repression. Screening a genomic library for a gene that could alleviate lysine repression when present in multicopy led to the recovery of argP, a gene encoding an activating protein of the LysR-type family, known to use lysine as an effector. An argP null mutation strongly decreases dapB transcription that becomes insensitive to lysine. Purified His6-tagged ArgP protein binds with an apparent K d of 35 nM to the dapB promoter in a gel retardation assay, provided that sequences up to −103 are present. In the presence of l-lysine and l-arginine, the binding of ArgP to dapB is partly relieved. These results fit with a model in which ArgP contributes to enhanced transcription of dapB when lysine becomes limiting.


2008 ◽  
Vol 190 (7) ◽  
pp. 2450-2457 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seyyed I. Husnain ◽  
Mark S. Thomas

ABSTRACT The Escherichia coli guaB promoter (P guaB ) regulates the transcription of two genes, guaB and guaA, that are required for de novo synthesis of GMP, a precursor for the synthesis of guanine nucleoside triphosphates. The activity of P guaB is subject to growth rate-dependent control (GRDC). Here we show that the A+T-rich sequence located between positions −59 and −38 relative to the guaB transcription start site stimulates transcription from P guaB ∼8- to 10-fold and, in common with other UP elements, requires the C-terminal domain of the RNA polymerase α subunit for activity. Like the rrnB P1 UP element, the P guaB UP element contains two independently acting subsites located at positions −59 to −47 and −46 to −38 and can stimulate transcription when placed upstream of the lacP1 promoter. We reveal a novel role for the P guaB UP element by demonstrating that it is required for GRDC. The involvement of the UP element in GRDC also requires the participation of sequences located at least 100 bp upstream of the guaB transcription start site. These sequences are required for down-regulation of P guaB activity at lower growth rates.


2016 ◽  
Vol 60 (7) ◽  
pp. 4394-4397 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laurent Poirel ◽  
Nicolas Kieffer ◽  
Adrian Brink ◽  
Jennifer Coetze ◽  
Aurélie Jayol ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTA series of colistin-resistantEscherichia coliclinical isolates was recovered from hospitalized and community patients in South Africa. Seven clonally unrelated isolates harbored themcr-1gene located on different plasmid backbones. Two distinct plasmids were fully sequenced, and identical 2,600-bp-long DNA sequences defining amcr-1cassette were identified. Promoter sequences responsible for the expression ofmcr-1, deduced from the precise identification of the +1 transcription start site formcr-1, were characterized.


2000 ◽  
Vol 182 (10) ◽  
pp. 2741-2745 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sonya Rowe ◽  
Nigel Hodson ◽  
Gary Griffiths ◽  
Ian S. Roberts

ABSTRACT The expression of Escherichia coli group 2 capsules (K antigens) is temperature dependent, with capsules only being expressed at temperatures above 20°C. Thermoregulation is at the level of transcription, with no detectable transcription at 20°C. Using theE. coli K5 capsule gene cluster as a model system, we have shown that the nucleoid-associated protein H-NS plays a dual role in regulating transcription of group 2 capsule gene clusters at 37 and 20°C. At 37°C H-NS is required for maximal transcription of group 2 capsule gene clusters, whereas at 20°C H-NS functions to repress transcription. The BipA protein, previously identified as a tyrosine-phosphorylated GTPase and essential for virulence in enteropathogenic E. coli, was shown to play a similar role to H-NS in regulating transcription at 37 and 20°C. The binding of integration host factor (IHF) to the region 1 promoter was necessary to potentiate transcription at 37°C and IHF binding demonstrated by bandshift assays. The IHF binding site was 3′ to the site of transcription initiation, suggesting that sequences in the 5′ end of the first gene (kpsF) in region 1 may play a role in regulating transcription from this promoter at 37°C. Two additionalcis-acting sequences, conserved in both the region 1 and 3 promoters, were identified, suggesting a role for these sequences in the coordinate regulation of transcription from these promoters. These results indicate that a complex regulatory network involving a number of global regulators exists for the control of expression of group 2 capsules in E. coli.


2006 ◽  
Vol 80 (7) ◽  
pp. 3395-3405 ◽  
Author(s):  
Weimin Li ◽  
Sek-Man Wong

ABSTRACT Hibiscus chlorotic ringspot virus (HCRSV), which belongs to the genus Carmovirus, generates two 3′-coterminal subgenomic RNAs (sgRNAs) of 1.4 kb and 1.7 kb. Transcription start sites of the two sgRNAs were identified at nucleotides (nt) 2178 and 2438, respectively. The full promoter of sgRNA1, a 118-base sequence, is localized between positions +6 and −112 relative to its transcription start site (+1). Similarly, a 132-base sequence, from +6 to −126, defines the sgRNA2 promoter. Computer analysis revealed that both sgRNA promoters share a similar two-stem-loop (SL1 + SL2) structure, immediately upstream of the transcription start site. Mutational analysis of the primary sequence and secondary structures showed further similarities between the two subgenomic promoters. The basal portion of SL2, encompassing the transcription start site, was essential for transcription activity in each promoter, while SL1 and the upper portion of SL2 played a role in transcription enhancement. Both the 5′ untranslated region (UTR) and the last 87 nt at the 3′ UTR of HCRSV genomic RNA are likely to be the putative genomic plus-strand and minus-strand promoters, respectively. They function well as individual sgRNA promoters to produce ectopic subgenomic RNAs in vivo but not to the same levels of the actual sgRNA promoters. This suggests that HCRSV sgRNA promoters share common features with the promoters for genomic plus-strand and minus-strand RNA synthesis. To our knowledge, this is the first demonstration that both the 5′ UTR and part of the 3′ UTR can be duplicated and function as sgRNA promoters within a single viral genome.


2005 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 181-183 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Tucker ◽  
B. D'Autréaux ◽  
S. Spiro ◽  
R. Dixon

Nitric oxide is an intermediate of denitrification, and is one of the radical species deployed by macrophages against invading pathogens, therefore bacterial responses to NO are of considerable importance. The Escherichia coli flavorubredoxin and its associated oxidoreductase reduce NO to nitrous oxide under anaerobic conditions, and are encoded by the norVW transcription unit. Expression of norVW requires the NO sensing regulatory protein NorR and is dependent on RNA polymerase containing the alternative sigma factor, σ54. We have purified NorR and shown that it binds to three sites in the norVW promoter region, located 75–140 bp upstream of the experimentally verified transcription start site. We have also identified two binding sites for the integration host factor, one between the NorR sites and the σ54-RNA polymerase binding site, and a second downstream of the norVW transcription start site. Comparison of the norVW promoters of enteric bacteria along with known and putative NorR-regulated promoters from Vibrio, Ralstonia and Pseudomonas species suggests that NorR binding sites contain an invariant GT(N7)AC motif flanking an AT-rich central region. The identification of a consensus for NorR binding sites will help to elucidate additional members of the NorR regulon.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document