Chloramphenicol induces translation of the mRNA for a chloramphenicol-resistance gene in Bacillus subtilis.
cat-86 is a plasmid gene specifying chloramphenicol-inducible chloramphenicol acetyltransferase activity in Bacillus subtilis. Inducibility has been suggested to result primarily from activation of the translation of cat-86 mRNA by subinhibitory levels of chloramphenicol. To directly test the involvement of transcription in cat-86 induction, the gene was transcriptionally activated with a strong promoter, resulting in the synthesis of relatively high levels of cat-86 mRNA in uninduced cells. When RNA synthesis was blocked with rifampin (100 micrograms/ml), de novo inducibility of cat-86 by chloramphenicol could be demonstrated for more than 30 min. These results indicate that concurrent transcription is not essential for cat-86 induction. Accordingly, cat-86 is one of only a few inducible bacterial genes in which the primary form of regulation is at the translational level. This form of regulation may apply to other cat genes of Gram-positive origin whose expression is also inducible by chloramphenicol.
D000123:Acetyltransferases / Q000235:genetics*; D001412:Bacillus subtilis / Q000235:genetics*; D002701:Chloramphenicol / Q000494:pharmacology*; D015500:Chloramphenicol O-Acetyltransferase; D004352:Drug Resistance, Microbial; D004790:Enzyme Induction / Q000187:drug effects; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000187:drug effects; D014176:Protein Biosynthesis / Q000187:drug effects*; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics; D012293:Rifampin / Q000494:pharmacology; D014158:Transcription, Genetic / Q000187:drug effects
D012333:RNA, Messenger; D002701:Chloramphenicol; D000123:Acetyltransferases; D015500:Chloramphenicol O-Acetyltransferase; D012293:Rifampin