Transcription of nhaA, the main Na(+)/H(+) antiporter of Escherichia coli, is regulated by Na(+) and growth phase.
The transcription of nhaA, encoding the main Na(+)/H(+) antiporter of Escherichia coli, is induced by Na(+), regulated by NhaR, and affected by H-NS. In this work the roles of the two nhaA promoters (P1 and P2) were studied by analysis of transcription both in vivo and in vitro and promoter mutations. We found that P1 is an NhaR-dependent, Na(+)-induced, and H-NS-affected promoter both in the exponential and stationary phases. An in vitro transcription assay demonstrated that P1 is activated by sigma(70)-RNA polymerase and both NhaR and H-NS increase the specificity of P1. Remarkably, in marked contrast to P1, P2 exhibits very low activity during the exponential phase but is induced in the stationary phase to become the major promoter. Furthermore, P2 is activated by sigma(S) and is neither induced by Na(+) nor dependent on NhaR or affected by H-NS. Hence, this work establishes that nhaA has a dual mode of regulation, each involving a different promoter, and reveals that P2 and sigma(S) together are responsible for the survival of stationary-phase cells in the presence of high Na(+), alkaline pH, and the combination of high Na(+) and alkaline pH, the most stressful condition.
Dover
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Division of Microbial and Molecular Ecology, Institute of Life Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 91904 Jerusalem, Israel.
Padan
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E
D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D001483:Base Sequence; D002455:Cell Division; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000166:cytology / Q000235:genetics*; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins; D015964:Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D012808:Sigma Factor / Q000378:metabolism; D012964:Sodium / Q000494:pharmacology*; D017923:Sodium-Hydrogen Exchangers / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics*; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000378:metabolism; D014158:Transcription, Genetic / Q000187:drug effects
D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins; C031908:H-NS protein, bacteria; C102839:NhaA protein, E coli; D012808:Sigma Factor; D017923:Sodium-Hydrogen Exchangers; D014157:Transcription Factors; C074687:nhaR protein, E coli; C069567:sigma factor KatF protein, Bacteria; D012964:Sodium