title: Involvement of sigma 54 in exponential silencing of the Pseudomonas putida TOL plasmid Pu promoter.
abstract: The sigma 54-dependent Pu promoter of the TOL plasmid pWW0 of Pseudomonas putida becomes activated by the prokaryotic enhancer-binding XyIR protein when cells encounter m-xylene in the medium. However, even in the presence of the aromatic inducer, Pu activity is silenced in vivo during rapid exponential growth of the cells in rich medium. Various elements known to be involved in the control of the transcriptional activity of the promoter were examined to ascertain the mechanism by which expression of Pu is limited during the exponential phase of growth. A truncated and fully constitutive XyIR derivative deleted of its signal-reception N-terminal domain was found to be subjected to the same exponential silencing as the wild-type XyIR when exposed to m-xylene. This indicated that the phenomenon is not due to a late activation of XyIR by the aromatic effector. A Pu variant in which the integration host factor (IHF)-binding site had been functionally replaced by a statically curved DNA segment showed the same induction pattern, thus ruling out variations in the intracellular levels of IHF changes during growth as the element responsible for the inactivity of Pu in rapidly growing cells. On the contrary, overproduction of the sigma 54 factor allowed Pu expression during exponential phase. As sigma 54 protein levels remained approximately constant during growth, the exponential silencing of Pu could be caused ultimately by changes in the activity of the factor itself. This effect may not be exclusive to Pu, but could be a general co-regulation mechanism in sigma 54-dependent promoters that connects transcription of a specific set of genes with the general physiological status of the cells.
authors.affiliation: Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas (CSIC), Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Cases
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: de Lorenzo
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pérez-Martín
mesh_terms: D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D015153:Blotting, Western; D002455:Cell Division; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D012321:DNA-Directed RNA Polymerases / Q000378:metabolism; D004742:Enhancer Elements, Genetic / Q000235:genetics; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000235:genetics; D015964:Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D034982:Integration Host Factors; D007544:Isopropyl Thiogalactoside / Q000494:pharmacology; D007763:Lac Operon / Q000235:genetics; D010957:Plasmids / Q000235:genetics; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic / Q000235:genetics*; D016958:Pseudomonas putida / Q000378:metabolism*; D012808:Sigma Factor / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000378:metabolism; D014158:Transcription, Genetic / Q000235:genetics; D014170:Transformation, Genetic / Q000235:genetics; D014992:Xylenes / Q000494:pharmacology; D001616:beta-Galactosidase / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D034982:Integration Host Factors; D012808:Sigma Factor; D014157:Transcription Factors; C074322:XylR protein, Pseudomonas; D014992:Xylenes; C440503:integration host factor, Pseudomonas; D007544:Isopropyl Thiogalactoside; D012321:DNA-Directed RNA Polymerases; D001616:beta-Galactosidase; C031285:3-xylene