Regulation of the biosynthesis of thiopeptide antibiotic cyclothiazomycin by the transcriptional regulator SHJG8833 in Streptomyces hygroscopicus 5008

Cyclothiazomycin is a member of the thiopeptide antibiotics, which are usually complicated derivatives of ribosomally synthesized peptides. A gene cluster containing 12 ORFs identical to the clt cluster encoding cyclothiazomycin from Streptomyces hygroscopicus 10-22 was revealed by genome sequencing in S. hygroscopicus 5008. Genes SHJG8833 and SHJG8837 of the cluster and flanking gene SHJG8838 were predicted to encode regulatory proteins from different families. In this study, we showed that the newly identified cluster is functional and we investigated the roles of these regulatory genes in the regulation of cyclothiazomycin biosynthesis. We determined that SHJG8833, but not SHJG8837 or SHJG8838, is critical for cyclothiazomycin biosynthesis. The transcriptional start point of SHJG8833 was located to a thymidine 54 nt upstream of the start codon. Inactivation of SHJG8833 abrogated the production of cyclothiazomycin, and synthesis could be restored by reintroducing SHJG8833 into the mutant strain. Gene expression analyses indicated that SHJG8833 regulates a consecutive set of seven genes from SHJG8826 to SHJG8832, whose products are predicted to be involved in different steps in the construction of the main framework of cyclothiazomycin. Transcriptional analysis indicated that these seven genes may form two operons, SHJG8826–27 and SHJG8828–32. Gel-shift analysis demonstrated that the DNA-binding domain of SHJG8833 binds the promoters of SHJG8826 and SHJG8828 and sequences internal to SHJG8826 and SHJG8829, and a conserved binding sequence was deduced. These results indicate that SHJG8833 is a positive regulator that controls cyclothiazomycin biosynthesis by activating structural genes in the clt cluster.

Transcriptional Control by A-Factor of Two Trypsin Genes in Streptomyces griseus

ABSTRACT AdpA is the key transcriptional activator for a number of genes of various functions in the A-factor regulatory cascade in Streptomyces griseus, forming an AdpA regulon. Trypsin-like activity was detected at a late stage of growth in the wild-type strain but not in an A-factor-deficient mutant. Consistent with these observations, two trypsin genes, sprT and sprU, in S. griseus were found to be members of the AdpA regulon; AdpA activated the transcription of both genes by binding to the operators located at about −50 nucleotide positions with respect to the transcriptional start point. The transcription of sprT and sprU, induced by AdpA, was most active at the onset of sporulation. Most trypsin activity exerted by S. griseus was attributed to SprT, because trypsin activity in an sprT-disrupted mutant was greatly reduced but that in an sprU-disrupted mutant was only slightly reduced. This was consistent with the observation that the amount of the sprT mRNA was much greater than that of the sprU transcript. Disruption of both sprT and sprU (mutant ΔsprTU) reduced trypsin activity to almost zero, indicating that no trypsin genes other than these two were present in S. griseus. Even the double mutant ΔsprTU grew normally and developed aerial hyphae and spores over the same time course as the wild-type strain.

Characterization of the Streptomyces sp. Strain C5 snp Locus and Development of snp-Derived Expression Vectors

ABSTRACT The Streptomyces sp. strain C5 snp locus is comprised of two divergently oriented genes: snpA, a metalloproteinase gene, and snpR, which encodes a LysR-like activator of snpA transcription. The transcriptional start point of snpR is immediately downstream of a strong T-N11-A inverted repeat motif likely to be the SnpR binding site, while the snpA transcriptional start site overlaps the ATG start codon, generating a leaderless snpA transcript. By using the aphII reporter gene of pIJ486 as a reporter, the plasmid-borne snpR-activated snpA promoter was ca. 60-fold more active than either the nonactivated snpA promoter or the melC1 promoter of pIJ702. The snpR-activated snpA promoter produced reporter protein levels comparable to those of the up-mutated ermE∗ promoter. The SnpR-activated snpA promoter was built into a set of transcriptional and translational fusion expression vectors which have been used for the intracellular expression of numerous daunomycin biosynthesis pathway genes from Streptomyces sp. strain C5 as well as the expression and secretion of soluble recombinant human endostatin.

Identification and Functional Characterization of CbaR, a MarR-Like Modulator of the cbaABC-Encoded Chlorobenzoate Catabolism Pathway

ABSTRACT In Comamonas testosteroni BR60 (formerlyAlcaligenes sp. strain BR60), catabolism of the pollutant 3-chlorobenzoate (3CBA) is initiated by enzymes encoded by cbaABC, an operon found on composite transposon Tn5271 of plasmid pBRC60. ThecbaABC gene product CbaABC converts 3CBA to protocatechuate (PCA) and 5-Cl-PCA, which are then metabolized by the chromosomal PCA meta (extradiol) ring fission pathway. In this study, cbaA was found to possess a ς70 type promoter. O2 uptake experiments with whole cells and expression studies withcbaA-lacZ constructs showed thatcbaABC was induced by 3CBA. Benzoate, which is not a substrate of the 3CBA pathway, was a gratuitous inducer, and CbaR, a MarR family repressor coded for by a divergently transcribed gene upstream of cbaABC, could modulate induction mediated by benzoate. Purified CbaR bound specifically to two regions of thecbaA promoter (P cbaA ); site I, a high-affinity site, is between the transcriptional start point (position +1) and the start codon of cbaA, while site II, a lower-affinity site, overlaps position +1. 3CBA at concentrations as low as 40 μM interfered with binding to P cbaA . PCA also interfered with binding, while benzoate only weakly disrupted binding. Unexpectedly, benzoate with a hydroxyl or carboxyl at position 3 improved CbaR binding. Data are also presented that suggest that an unidentified regulator is encoded on the chromosome that induces cbaABC in response to benzoate and 3CBA.

NtcA-Dependent Expression of the devBCAOperon, Encoding a Heterocyst-Specific ATP-Binding Cassette Transporter in Anabaena spp

ABSTRACT The devBCA operon, encoding subunits of an ATP-binding cassette exporter, is essential for differentiation of N2-fixing heterocysts in Anabaena spp. Nitrogen deficiency-dependent transcription of the operon and the use of its transcriptional start point, located 762 (Anabaena variabilis strain ATCC 29413-FD) or 704 (Anabaena sp. strain PCC 7120) bp upstream of the translation start site, were found to require the global nitrogen transcriptional regulator NtcA. Furthermore, NtcA was shown to bind in vitro to the promoter ofdevBCA.

An A-Factor-Dependent Extracytoplasmic Function Sigma Factor (ςAdsA) That Is Essential for Morphological Development in Streptomyces griseus

ABSTRACT A-factor (2-isocapryloyl-3R-hydroxymethyl-γ-butyrolactone) at an extremely low concentration triggers streptomycin production and aerial mycelium formation in Streptomyces griseus. A-factor induces the expression of an A-factor-dependent transcriptional activator, AdpA, essential for both morphological and physiological differentiation by binding to the A-factor receptor protein ArpA, which has bound and repressed the adpA promoter, and dissociating it from the promoter. Nine DNA fragments that were specifically recognized and bound by histidine-tagged AdpA were isolated by cycles of a gel mobility shift-PCR method. One of them was located in front of a gene encoding an extracytoplasmic function ς factor belonging to a subgroup of the primary ς70 family. The cloned gene was named AdpA-dependent sigma factor gene (adsA), and the gene product was named ςAdsA. Transcription ofadsA depended on A-factor and AdpA, since adsAwas transcribed at a very low and constant level in an A-factor-deficient mutant strain or in an adpA-disrupted strain. Consistent with this, transcription of adsA was greatly enhanced at or near the timing of aerial hyphae formation, as determined by low-resolution S1 nuclease mapping. High-resolution S1 mapping determined the transcriptional start point 82 nucleotides upstream of the translational start codon. DNase I footprinting showed that AdpA bound both strands symmetrically between the transcriptional start point and the translational start codon; AdpA protected the antisense strand from positions +7 to +41 with respect to the transcriptional start point and the sense strand from positions +12 to +46. A weak palindrome was found in the AdpA-binding site. The unusual position bound by AdpA as a transcriptional activator, in relation to the promoter, suggested the presence of a mechanism by which AdpA activates transcription of adsA in some unknown way. Disruption of the chromosomal adsA gene resulted in loss of aerial hyphae formation but not streptomycin or yellow pigment production, indicating that ςAdsA is involved only in morphological development and not in secondary metabolic function. The presence of a single copy in each of the Streptomycesspecies examined by Southern hybridization suggests a common role in morphogenesis in this genus.

AnCF, the CCAAT Binding Complex ofAspergillus nidulans, Is Essential for the Formation of a DNase I-Hypersensitive Site in the 5′ Region of theamdS Gene

ABSTRACT The CCAAT sequence in the amdS promoter ofAspergillus nidulans is recognized by AnCF, a complex consisting of the three evolutionary conserved subunits HapB, HapC, and HapE. In this study we have investigated the effect of AnCF on the chromatin structure of the amdS gene. The AnCF complex and the CCAAT sequence were found to be necessary for the formation of a nucleosome-free, DNase I-hypersensitive region in the 5′ region of theamdS gene. Deletion of the hapE gene results in loss of the DNase I-hypersensitive site, and the positioning of nucleosomes over the transcriptional start point is lost. Likewise, a point mutation in the CCAAT motif, as well as a 530-bp deletion which removes the CCAAT box, results in the loss of the DNase I-hypersensitive region. The DNase I-hypersensitive region and the nucleosome positioning can be restored by insertion of a 35-bp oligonucleotide carrying the CCAAT motif. A DNase I-hypersensitive region has been found in the CCAAT-containing fmdS gene and was also hapE dependent. These data indicate a critical role for the AnCF complex in establishing an open chromatin structure in A. nidulans.

Identification of Campylobacter jejuniPromoter Sequences

ABSTRACT A promoterless lacZ shuttle vector, which allowed screening of promoters by β-galactosidase activity inCampylobacter jejuni and Escherichia coli, was developed. Chromosomal DNA fragments from C. jejuniwere cloned into this vector; 125 of 1,824 clones displayed promoter activity in C. jejuni. Eleven clones with strong promoter activity in C. jejuni were further characterized. Their nucleotide sequences were determined, and the transcriptional start sites of the putative promoters in C. jejuni were determined by primer extension. Only 6 of these 11 promoters were functional in E. coli. The 11 newly characterized and 10 previously characterized C. jejuni promoters were used to establish a consensus sequence for C. jejuni promoters. The 21 promoters were found to be very similar. They contain three conserved regions, located approximately 10, 16, and 35 bp upstream of the transcriptional start point. The −10 region resembles that of a typical ς70 E. colipromoter, but the −35 region is completely different. In addition a −16 region typical for gram-positive bacteria was identified.