title: Predicted glycosyl transferase genes located outside the HEP island are required for formation of heterocyst envelope polysaccharide in Anabaena sp. strain PCC 7120.
abstract: During maturation, heterocysts form an envelope layer of polysaccharide, called heterocyst envelope polysaccharide (HEP), whose synthesis depends on a cluster of genes, the HEP island, and on an additional, distant gene, hepB, or a gene immediately downstream from hepB. We show that HEP formation depends upon the predicted glycosyl transferase genes all4160 at a third locus and alr3699, which is adjacent to hepB and is cotranscribed with it. Mutations in the histidine kinase genes hepN and hepK appear to silence the promoter of hepB and incompletely down-regulate all4160.
authors.affiliation: The State Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, Hubei 430072, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Yu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Sigal
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lechno-Yossef
authors.forename: Yangmin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Gong
authors.forename: Qing
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Fan
authors.forename: C Peter
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Wolk
authors.forename: Xudong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Xu
mesh_terms: D017033:Anabaena / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000502:physiology; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D015964:Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D005816:Genetic Complementation Test; D016680:Genome, Bacterial; D016695:Glycosyltransferases / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence; D008957:Models, Genetic; D005810:Multigene Family; D009154:Mutation; D011135:Polysaccharides, Bacterial / Q000096:biosynthesis*
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D011135:Polysaccharides, Bacterial; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins; D016695:Glycosyltransferases