title: Regulated expression of glutamyl-tRNA synthetase is directed by a mobile genetic element in the cyanobacterium Tolypothrix sp. PCC 7601.
abstract: The genome of Tolypothrix sp. PCC 7601 carries two copies of a novel insertion sequence, ISTosp1. One of the two copies is located upstream of the gene encoding glutamyl-tRNA synthetase, an enzyme playing a key role in protein and pigment synthesis. The tnpA gene of the IS element and gltX were co-transcribed and their expression was transiently upregulated upon retrieval of the ammonium source irrespective of whether nitrate or no nitrogen source were available. The second copy is also transcribed and shows a similar regulatory pattern. Structural elements of the promoter (-10 and -35 sequences) directing the expression of the tnpA-gltX operon have been localized within the IS. Regulatory sequences involving the NtcA transcription factor in the control of tnpA-gltX expression were found both within and in sequences upstream of the insertion element. The expression of gltX in a closely related cyanobacterium, Nostoc sp. PCC 7120, which lacks the insertion upstream of gltX, decreased upon ammonium retrieval, a regulatory pattern that markedly differs from that observed in Tolypothrix sp. PCC 7601. ISTosp1 constitutes a good example of how cells can make use of a transposable element to evolve an original regulatory mechanism.
authors.affiliation: Dpto Fisiología, Genética y Microbiología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Alicante, Campus de San Vicente, Alicante 03080, Spain. ignacio.luque@ua.es
authors.forename: Ignacio
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Luque
authors.forename: Alfonso
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Andújar
authors.forename: Lin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Jia
authors.forename: Gérald
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Zabulon
authors.forename: Nicole Tandeau
authors.initials: NT
authors.lastname: de Marsac
authors.forename: Enrique
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Flores
authors.forename: Jean
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Houmard
mesh_terms: D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D001483:Base Sequence; D000458:Cyanobacteria / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D015964:Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial; D015971:Gene Expression Regulation, Enzymologic; D005975:Glutamate-tRNA Ligase / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D020071:Interspersed Repetitive Sequences; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D046937:Nostoc / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D011485:Protein Binding; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D014157:Transcription Factors; D005975:Glutamate-tRNA Ligase