title: Identification of a Bacillus thuringiensis gene that positively regulates transcription of the phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C gene at the onset of the stationary phase.
abstract: A transcriptional analysis of the phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C (plcA) gene of Bacillus thuringiensis indicated that its transcription was activated at the onset of the stationary phase in B. thuringiensis but was not activated in B. subtilis. The B. thuringiensis gene encoding a transcriptional activator required for plcA expression was cloned by using a B. subtilis strain carrying a chromosomal plcA'-'lacZ fusion as a heterologous host for selection. This trans activator (designated PlcR) is a protein of a calculated molecular weight of 33,762 which appears to be distantly related to PreL and NprA, regulator proteins enhancing transcription of neutral protease genes during the stationary phase of a Lactobacillus sp. and B. stearothermophilus, respectively. plcR gene transcription was analyzed in B. thuringiensis and in B. subtilis. PlcR positively regulated its own transcription at the onset of the stationary phase. There is a highly conserved DNA sequence (17 bp) 34 nucleotides upstream from the plcR transcriptional start site and 49 nucleotides upstream from the plcA transcriptional start site. As PlcR positively regulates its own transcription and plcA transcription, this conserved DNA sequence may be the specific recognition target for PlcR activation.
authors.affiliation: Unité de Biochimie Microbienne, URA 1300, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France. lereclus@pasteur.fr
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lereclus
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Agaisse
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gominet
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Salamitou
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Sanchis
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001413:Bacillus thuringiensis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D001483:Base Sequence; D015964:Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D043265:Phosphatidylinositol Diacylglycerol-Lyase; D054801:Phosphoinositide Phospholipase C; D010727:Phosphoric Diester Hydrolases / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D015534:Trans-Activators / Q000235:genetics*; D014158:Transcription, Genetic
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; C099480:PlcR protein, Bacillus; D015534:Trans-Activators; D010727:Phosphoric Diester Hydrolases; D054801:Phosphoinositide Phospholipase C; D043265:Phosphatidylinositol Diacylglycerol-Lyase