Transcription activation of a UV-inducible Clostridium perfringens bacteriocin gene by a novel sigma factor.
Expression of the plasmid-encoded Clostridium perfringens gene for bacteriocin BCN5 was shown to depend in vivo and in vitro on the activity of UviA protein. UviA, also plasmid-encoded, proved to be an RNA polymerase sigma factor and was also partly autoregulatory. The uviA gene has two promoters; one provided a UviA-independent, basal level of gene expression while the stronger, UviA-dependent promoter was only utilized after the cell experienced DNA damage. As a result, BCN5 synthesis is induced by treatment with UV light or mitomycin C. UviA is related to a special class of sigma factors found to date only in Clostridium species and responsible for activating transcription of toxin genes in Clostridium difficile, Clostridium tetani, and Clostridium botulinum.
Dupuy
Bruno
B
Unité de Génétique Moléculaire Bactérienne, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France. bdupuy@pasteur.fr
Mani
Nagraj
N
Katayama
Seiichi
S
Sonenshein
Abraham L
AL
D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D001430:Bacteriocins / Q000235:genetics*; D001483:Base Sequence; D003016:Clostridium perfringens / Q000235:genetics* / Q000528:radiation effects*; D004249:DNA Damage; D017931:DNA Primers; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000235:genetics; D015964:Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010957:Plasmids; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic / Q000235:genetics; D012808:Sigma Factor / Q000235:genetics*; D015533:Transcriptional Activation; D014466:Ultraviolet Rays
D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D001430:Bacteriocins; D017931:DNA Primers; D012808:Sigma Factor