title: Identification and cloning of a fur homolog from Neisseria gonorrhoeae.
abstract: The promoter region of the major iron-regulated protein of Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Fbp, has two regions that exhibit homology with the Escherichia coli consensus Fur-binding sequences. Gel retardation assays suggested that purified E. coli Fur bound to two sites within the Fbp promoter. The presence of a gonococcal Fur homolog was suggested by Southern hybridization under conditions of low stringency, which revealed a DNA locus that exhibited homology to the E. coli fur gene. Oligonucleotides derived from the conserved regions of fur genes of extremely diverse bacteria were used to amplify a 140-bp fragment of a putative gonococcal fur gene. This fragment was used to identify clones containing the entire gonococcal fur gene. After sequencing the gonococcal fur gene and its promoter region, we found that gonococcal Fur exhibited 50% identity with E. coli Fur at the amino acid level; however, it complemented two E. coli Fur- mutants. The presence of a Fur homolog in N. gonorrhoeae suggests that Fur-regulated genes are widely distributed among extremely diverse bacteria.
authors.affiliation: Division of Sexually Transmitted Diseases Laboratory Research, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia 30333.
authors.forename: S A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Berish
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Subbarao
authors.forename: C Y
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: D L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Trees
authors.forename: S A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Morse
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D001483:Base Sequence; D015139:Blotting, Southern; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000737:chemistry; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D005816:Genetic Complementation Test; D007501:Iron / Q000378:metabolism; D051379:Mice; D008813:Mice, Inbred ICR; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009344:Neisseria gonorrhoeae / Q000235:genetics*; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D012097:Repressor Proteins / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D012097:Repressor Proteins; C068477:ferric uptake regulating proteins, bacterial; D007501:Iron