An inducible tellurite-resistance operon in Proteus mirabilis.
Tellurite resistance (Te(r)) is widespread in nature and it is shown here that the natural resistance of Proteus mirabilis to tellurite is due to a chromosomally located orthologue of plasmid-borne ter genes found in enteric bacteria. The P. mirabilis ter locus (terZABCDE) was identified in a screen of Tn5lacZ-generated mutants of which one contained an insertion in terC. The P. mirabilis terC mutant displayed increased susceptibility to tellurite (Te(s)) and complementation with terC carried on a multicopy plasmid restored high-level Te(r). Primer extension analysis revealed a single transcriptional start site upstream of terZ, but only with RNA harvested from bacteria grown in the presence of tellurite. Northern blotting and reverse transcriptase-PCR (RT-PCR) analyses confirmed that the ter operon was inducible by tellurite and to a lesser extent by oxidative stress inducers such as hydrogen peroxide and methyl viologen (paraquat). Direct and inverted repeat sequences were identified in the ter promoter region as well as motifs upstream of the -35 hexamer that resembled OxyR-binding sequences. Finally, the 390 bp intergenic promoter region located between orf3 and terZ showed no DNA sequence identity with any other published ter sequences, whereas terZABCDE genes exhibited 73-85 % DNA sequence identity. The ter operon was present in all clinical isolates of P. mirabilis and Proteus vulgaris tested and is inferred for Morganella and Providencia spp. based on screening for high level Te(r) and preliminary PCR analysis. Thus, a chromosomally located inducible tellurite resistance operon appears to be a common feature of the genus Proteus.
Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Dalhousie University, Sir Charles Tupper Medical Building, College Street, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada B3H 4H7.
Anna
A
Toptchieva
Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Dalhousie University, Sir Charles Tupper Medical Building, College Street, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada B3H 4H7.
Gary
G
Sisson
Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Dalhousie University, Sir Charles Tupper Medical Building, College Street, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada B3H 4H7.
Louis J
LJ
Bryden
Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, 1-28 Medical Science Building, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T6G 2H7.
Diane E
DE
Taylor
Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Dalhousie University, Sir Charles Tupper Medical Building, College Street, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada B3H 4H7.|Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Dalhousie University, Sir Charles Tupper Medical Building, College Street, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada B3H 4H7.
Paul S
PS
Hoffman
D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D024881:Drug Resistance, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics*; D015964:Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial; D006801:Humans; D006861:Hydrogen Peroxide / Q000494:pharmacology; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009876:Operon; D010269:Paraquat / Q000494:pharmacology; D011513:Proteus mirabilis / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D013691:Tellurium / Q000494:pharmacology*
D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D006861:Hydrogen Peroxide; C026660:tellurous acid; D013691:Tellurium; D010269:Paraquat