title: The Master Quorum-Sensing Regulator OpaR is Activated Indirectly by H-NS in Vibrio parahaemolyticus.
abstract: AphA and OpaR are the master regulators of quorum sensing in Vibrio parahaemolyticus and there is reciprocal negative regulation between AphA and OpaR. The histone-like nucleoid structure (H-NS) protein is a global transcriptional repressor of horizontally transferred genes, but a few prokaryotic genes, for example flagella genes, are stimulated by H-NS. The regulation of opaR by H-NS was investigated using the following methods: primer extension, LacZ fusion, quantitative RT-PCR, and electrophoretic mobility shift assay. One transcription start site located at 74 bp upstream of opaR was detected and its activity was induced by H-NS. Therefore, a single H-NS-dependent promoter was transcribed for opaR in V. parahaemolyticus. Because the H-NS protein could not bind to the upstream region of opaR and H-NS does not regulate aphA, indirect activation of the transcription of opaR by H-NS cannot be mediated by the AphA repressor.
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, 212013, Jiangsu, China.
authors.forename: Yiquan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, 212013, Jiangsu, China.
authors.forename: Lingyu
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, 212013, Jiangsu, China.
authors.forename: Shuning
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hou
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, 212013, Jiangsu, China.
authors.forename: Xinxiang
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy, Southwest Hospital, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, 400038, China. fengjun_sun@163.com.
authors.forename: Fengjun
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory for Infectious Disease Prevention and Control, National Institute for Communicable Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, 102206, China. gaohe@icdc.cn.
authors.forename: He
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Gao
mesh_terms: D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D015964:Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D053038:Quorum Sensing; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D014736:Vibrio parahaemolyticus / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; C031908:H-NS protein, bacteria; C500454:OpaR protein, Vibrio parahaemolyticus; D014157:Transcription Factors