H-NS family members function coordinately in an opportunistic pathogen.
The histone-like nucleoid structuring protein, H-NS, is a prominent global regulator of gene expression. Many Gram-negative bacteria contain multiple members of the H-NS family of proteins. Thus, a key question is whether H-NS family members have overlapping or distinct functions. To address this question we performed genome-wide location analyses with MvaT and MvaU, the two H-NS family members present in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. We show that MvaT and MvaU bind the same chromosomal regions, coregulating the expression of approximately 350 target genes. We show further that like H-NS in enteric bacteria, which functions as a transcriptional silencer of foreign DNA by binding to AT-rich elements, MvaT and MvaU bind preferentially to AT-rich regions of the chromosome. Our findings establish that H-NS paralogs can function coordinately to regulate expression of the same set of target genes, and suggest that MvaT and MvaU are involved in silencing foreign DNA elements in P. aeruginosa.
Castang
Sandra
S
Division of Infectious Diseases, Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
McManus
Heather R
HR
Turner
Keith H
KH
Dove
Simon L
SL
D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D002876:Chromosomes, Bacterial; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D015964:Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial; D020868:Gene Silencing; D006801:Humans; D011550:Pseudomonas aeruginosa / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000472:pathogenicity; D018085:Regulon; D015534:Trans-Activators / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D014158:Transcription, Genetic
D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; C031908:H-NS protein, bacteria; C111692:MvaT protein, Pseudomonas; D015534:Trans-Activators