title: Identification of a regulatory protein required for pressure-responsive gene expression in the deep-sea bacterium Photobacterium species strain SS9.
abstract: Here, we report the characterization of a gene necessary for hydrostatic pressure regulation of gene expression in the deep-sea bacterium Photobacterium species strain SS9. The deduced amino acid sequence of the gene product shares extensive similarity to ToxR, a transmembrane DNA-binding protein first discovered as a virulence determinant in the pathogenic bacterium Vibrio cholerae. Changes in hydrostatic pressure induce changes in both the abundance and the activity of the SS9 ToxR protein (or the activity of a ToxR-regulated protein). As with other high-pressure-inducible phenomena observed in higher organisms, anaesthetics antagonize high-pressure signalling mediated by ToxR. It is suggested that SS9 ToxR has evolved the ability to respond to pressure-mediated alterations in membrane structure. V. cholerae and SS9 also share similarity in a ToxR-regulated protein, indicating that part of the ToxR regulon is conserved in diverse members of the family Vibrionaceae. The SS9 ToxR system represents a useful model for studies of signal transduction and environmental adaptation in the largest portion of the biosphere, the deep sea.
authors.affiliation: Center for Marine Biotechnology and Biomedicine, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, La Jolla 92093-0202, USA.
authors.forename: T J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Welch
authors.forename: D H
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Bartlett
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D015153:Blotting, Western; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology*; D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; D017353:Gene Deletion; D015964:Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial; D006874:Hydrostatic Pressure; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016296:Mutagenesis; D010776:Photobacterium / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development; D018272:Porins / Q000235:genetics; D011343:Procaine / Q000494:pharmacology; D018085:Regulon / Q000235:genetics; D015398:Signal Transduction; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; C100900:OmpL protein, bacteria; D018272:Porins; C499323:ToxR protein, Photobacterium profundum; D014157:Transcription Factors; C066719:toxR protein, bacteria; D011343:Procaine