@article {3098, title = {Genetic switches and related tools for controlling gene expression and electrical outputs of Geobacter sulfurreducens.}, journal = {J Ind Microbiol Biotechnol}, volume = {43}, year = {2016}, month = {2016 Nov}, pages = {1561-1575}, abstract = {

Physiological studies and biotechnology applications of Geobacter species have been limited by a lack of genetic tools. Therefore, potential additional molecular strategies for controlling metabolism were explored. When the gene for citrate synthase, or acetyl-CoA transferase, was placed under the control of a LacI/IPTG regulator/inducer system, cells grew on acetate only in the presence of IPTG. The TetR/AT system could also be used to control citrate synthase gene expression and acetate metabolism. A strain that required IPTG for growth on D-lactate was constructed by placing the gene for D-lactate dehydrogenase under the control of the LacI/IPTG system. D-Lactate served as an inducer in a strain in which a D-lactate responsive promoter and transcription repressor were used to control citrate synthase expression. Iron- and potassium-responsive systems were successfully incorporated to regulate citrate synthase expression and growth on acetate. Linking the appropriate degradation tags on the citrate synthase protein made it possible to control acetate metabolism with either the endogenous ClpXP or exogenous Lon protease and tag system. The ability to control current output from Geobacter biofilms and the construction of an AND logic gate for acetate metabolism suggested that the tools developed may be applicable for biosensor and biocomputing applications.

}, keywords = {Acetates, Acetyl Coenzyme A, Citrate (si)-Synthase, Electric Conductivity, Gene Expression Regulation, Geobacter, Isopropyl Thiogalactoside, L-Lactate Dehydrogenase, Lac Repressors, Promoter Regions, Genetic, Transferases}, issn = {1476-5535}, doi = {10.1007/s10295-016-1836-5}, author = {Ueki, Toshiyuki and Nevin, Kelly P and Woodard, Trevor L and Lovley, Derek R} } @article {1274, title = {Trypanosoma brucei Orc1 is essential for nuclear DNA replication and affects both VSG silencing and VSG switching.}, journal = {Mol Microbiol}, volume = {87}, year = {2013}, month = {2013 Jan}, pages = {196-210}, abstract = {

Binding of the Origin Recognition Complex (ORC) to replication origins is essential for initiation of DNA replication, but ORC has non-essential functions outside of DNA replication, including in heterochromatic gene silencing and telomere maintenance. Trypanosoma brucei, a protozoan parasite that causes human African trypanosomiasis, uses antigenic variation as a major virulence mechanism to evade the host\&$\#$39;s immune attack by expressing its major surface antigen, the Variant Surface Glycoprotein (VSG), in a monoallelic manner. An Orc1/Cdc6 homologue has been identified in T.\ brucei, but its role in DNA replication has not been directly confirmed and its potential involvement in VSG repression or switching has not been thoroughly investigated. In this study, we show that TbOrc1 is essential for nuclear DNA replication in mammalian-infectious bloodstream and tsetse procyclic forms (BF and PF). Depletion of TbOrc1 resulted in derepression of telomere-linked silent VSGs in both BF and PF, and increased VSG switching particularly through the in situ transcriptional switching mechanism. TbOrc1 associates with telomere repeats but appears to do so independently of two known T.\ brucei telomere proteins, TbRAP1 and TbTRF. We conclude that TbOrc1 has conserved functions in DNA replication and is also required to control telomere-linked VSG expression and VSG switching.

}, keywords = {Antigenic Variation, DNA Replication, DNA, Protozoan, Gene Silencing, Genes, Protozoan, Membrane Glycoproteins, Origin Recognition Complex, Promoter Regions, Genetic, Trypanosoma brucei brucei, Variant Surface Glycoproteins, Trypanosoma}, issn = {1365-2958}, doi = {10.1111/mmi.12093}, author = {Benmerzouga, Imaan and Concepci{\'o}n-Acevedo, Jeniffer and Kim, Hee-Sook and Vandoros, Anthula V and Cross, George A M and Klingbeil, Michele M and Li, Bibo} } @article {32, title = {Transcription regulation of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae PHO5 gene by the Ino2p and Ino4p basic helix-loop-helix proteins.}, journal = {Mol Microbiol}, volume = {83}, year = {2012}, month = {2012 Jan}, pages = {395-407}, abstract = {

The Saccharomyces cerevisiae PHO5 gene product accounts for a majority of the acid phosphatase activity. Its expression is induced by the basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) protein, Pho4p, in response to phosphate depletion. Pho4p binds predominantly to two UAS elements (UASp1 at -356 and UASp2 at -247) in the PHO5 promoter. Previous studies from our lab have shown cross-regulation of different biological processes by bHLH proteins. This study tested the ability of all yeast bHLH proteins to regulate PHO5 expression and identified inositol-mediated regulation via the Ino2p/Ino4p bHLH proteins. Ino2p/Ino4p are known regulators of phospholipid biosynthetic genes. Genetic epistasis experiments showed that regulation by inositol required a third UAS site (UASp3 at -194). ChIP assays showed that Ino2p:Ino4p bind the PHO5 promoter and that this binding is dependent on Pho4p binding. These results demonstrate that phospholipid biosynthesis is co-ordinated with phosphate utilization via the bHLH proteins.

}, keywords = {Acid Phosphatase, Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Transcription Factors, Chromatin Immunoprecipitation, DNA, Fungal, Enhancer Elements, Genetic, Gene Expression Regulation, Fungal, Inositol, Models, Biological, Phospholipids, Promoter Regions, Genetic, Protein Binding, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins, Transcription Factors, Transcription, Genetic}, issn = {1365-2958}, doi = {10.1111/j.1365-2958.2011.07941.x}, author = {He, Ying and Swaminathan, Aishwarya and Lopes, John M} } @article {422, title = {Genome diversity of the TetR family of transcriptional regulators in a metal-reducing bacterial family Geobacteraceae and other microbial species.}, journal = {OMICS}, volume = {15}, year = {2011}, month = {2011 Jul-Aug}, pages = {495-506}, abstract = {Members of the TetR family of bacterial transcriptional regulators affect expression of genes whose products are involved in a variety of important functions, including osmotic stress, catabolic pathways, homeostasis, biosynthesis of antibiotics, expression of efflux pumps, multidrug resistance, and virulence of pathogenic bacteria. We used genome sequence information to carry out phylogenetic classification of 864 TetR family members with a special focus on TetR regulators in Geobacteraceae, an environmentally important family of delta-Proteobacteria. The genome of Geobacter sulfurreducens, a model representative of Geobacteraceae, contains nine genes from the tetR family. Several of these genes are located immediately upstream of operons encoding functionally important c-type cytochromes. Computational analyses identified the presence of conserved promoters and other regulatory binding sites upstream of several G. sulfurreducens tetR genes. This suggests the possibility of an intermediary role of TetR family proteins in Geobacteraceae in regulatory cascades involving a variety of sigma factors. In order to understand the role of the TetR regulatory family in Geobacteraceae, we have inferred phylogenetic relationships among the Geobacteraceae TetR proteins and their homologs in other microbial species.}, keywords = {Bacterial Proteins, Binding Sites, Gram-Negative Bacteria, Metals, Oxidation-Reduction, Phylogeny, Promoter Regions, Genetic, Sigma Factor}, issn = {1557-8100}, doi = {10.1089/omi.2010.0117}, author = {Krushkal, Julia and Sontineni, Sreedhar and Leang, Ching and Qu, Yanhua and Adkins, Ronald M and Lovley, Derek R} } @article {31, title = {Derepression of INO1 transcription requires cooperation between the Ino2p-Ino4p heterodimer and Cbf1p and recruitment of the ISW2 chromatin-remodeling complex.}, journal = {Eukaryot Cell}, volume = {9}, year = {2010}, month = {2010 Dec}, pages = {1845-55}, abstract = {

The Saccharomyces cerevisiae INO1 gene encodes the structural enzyme inositol-3-phosphate synthase for the synthesis de novo of inositol and inositol-containing phospholipids. The transcription of INO1 is completely derepressed in the absence of inositol and choline (I(-) C(-)). Derepression requires the binding of the Ino2p-Ino4p basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) heterodimer to the UAS(INO) promoter element. We report here the requirement of a third bHLH protein, centromere-binding factor 1 (Cbf1p), for the complete derepression of INO1 transcription. We found that Cbf1p regulates INO1 transcription by binding to sites distal to the INO1 promoter and encompassing the upstream SNA3 open reading frame (ORF) and promoter. The binding of Cbf1p requires Ino2p-Ino4p binding to the UAS(INO) sites in the INO1 promoter and vice versa, suggesting a cooperative mechanism. Furthermore, Cbf1p binding to the upstream sites was required for the binding of the ISW2 chromatin-remodeling complex to the Ino2p-Ino4p-binding sites on the INO1 promoter. Consistent with this, ISW2 was also required for the complete derepression of INO1 transcription.

}, keywords = {Adenosine Triphosphatases, Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Leucine Zipper Transcription Factors, Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Transcription Factors, Chromatin, Chromatin Assembly and Disassembly, Dimerization, Gene Expression Regulation, Fungal, Myo-Inositol-1-Phosphate Synthase, Promoter Regions, Genetic, Protein Binding, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins, Transcription Factors, Transcription, Genetic}, issn = {1535-9786}, doi = {10.1128/EC.00144-10}, author = {Shetty, Ameet and Lopes, John M} } @article {452, title = {Genome-wide gene regulation of biosynthesis and energy generation by a novel transcriptional repressor in Geobacter species.}, journal = {Nucleic Acids Res}, volume = {38}, year = {2010}, month = {2010 Jan}, pages = {810-21}, abstract = {Geobacter species play important roles in bioremediation of contaminated environments and in electricity production from waste organic matter in microbial fuel cells. To better understand physiology of Geobacter species, expression and function of citrate synthase, a key enzyme in the TCA cycle that is important for organic acid oxidation in Geobacter species, was investigated. Geobacter sulfurreducens did not require citrate synthase for growth with hydrogen as the electron donor and fumarate as the electron acceptor. Expression of the citrate synthase gene, gltA, was repressed by a transcription factor under this growth condition. Functional and comparative genomics approaches, coupled with genetic and biochemical assays, identified a novel transcription factor termed HgtR that acts as a repressor for gltA. Further analysis revealed that HgtR is a global regulator for genes involved in biosynthesis and energy generation in Geobacter species. The hgtR gene was essential for growth with hydrogen, during which hgtR expression was induced. These findings provide important new insights into the mechanisms by which Geobacter species regulate their central metabolism under different environmental conditions.}, keywords = {Bacterial Proteins, Base Sequence, Citrate (si)-Synthase, Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial, Genome, Bacterial, Geobacter, Molecular Sequence Data, Promoter Regions, Genetic, Repressor Proteins, Transcription, Genetic}, issn = {1362-4962}, doi = {10.1093/nar/gkp1085}, author = {Ueki, Toshiyuki and Lovley, Derek R} } @article {436, title = {Genome-wide survey for PilR recognition sites of the metal-reducing prokaryote Geobacter sulfurreducens.}, journal = {Gene}, volume = {469}, year = {2010}, month = {2010 Dec 1}, pages = {31-44}, abstract = {Geobacter sulfurreducens is a species from the bacterial family Geobacteraceae, members of which participate in bioenergy production and in environmental bioremediation. G. sulfurreducens pili are electrically conductive and are required for Fe(III) oxide reduction and for optimal current production in microbial fuel cells. PilR is an enhancer binding protein, which is an activator acting together with the alternative sigma factor, RpoN, in transcriptional regulation. Both RpoN and PilR are involved in regulation of expression of the pilA gene, whose product is pilin, a structural component of a pilus. Using bioinformatic approaches, we predicted G. sulfurreducens sequence elements that are likely to be regulated by PilR. The functional importance of the genome region containing a PilR binding site predicted upstream of the pilA gene was experimentally validated. The predicted G. sulfurreducens PilR binding sites are similar to PilR binding sites of Pseudomonas and Moraxella. While the number of predicted PilR-regulated sites did not deviate from that expected by chance, multiple sites were predicted upstream of genes with roles in biosynthesis and function of pili and flagella, in secretory pathways, and in cell wall biogenesis, suggesting the possible involvement of G. sulfurreducens PilR in regulation of production and assembly of pili and flagella.}, keywords = {Bacterial Proteins, Base Sequence, Binding Sites, Conserved Sequence, Ferric Compounds, Fimbriae Proteins, Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial, Genome, Bacterial, Geobacter, Molecular Sequence Data, Promoter Regions, Genetic, Transcription Factors, Transcription, Genetic}, issn = {1879-0038}, doi = {10.1016/j.gene.2010.08.005}, author = {Krushkal, Julia and Ju{\'a}rez, Katy and Barbe, Jose F and Qu, Yanhua and Andrade, Angel and Puljic, Marko and Adkins, Ronald M and Lovley, Derek R and Ueki, Toshiyuki} } @article {440, title = {Novel regulatory cascades controlling expression of nitrogen-fixation genes in Geobacter sulfurreducens.}, journal = {Nucleic Acids Res}, volume = {38}, year = {2010}, month = {2010 Nov}, pages = {7485-99}, abstract = {Geobacter species often play an important role in bioremediation of environments contaminated with metals or organics and show promise for harvesting electricity from waste organic matter in microbial fuel cells. The ability of Geobacter species to fix atmospheric nitrogen is an important metabolic feature for these applications. We identified novel regulatory cascades controlling nitrogen-fixation gene expression in Geobacter sulfurreducens. Unlike the regulatory mechanisms known in other nitrogen-fixing microorganisms, nitrogen-fixation gene regulation in G. sulfurreducens is controlled by two two-component His-Asp phosphorelay systems. One of these systems appears to be the master regulatory system that activates transcription of the majority of nitrogen-fixation genes and represses a gene encoding glutamate dehydrogenase during nitrogen fixation. The other system whose expression is directly activated by the master regulatory system appears to control by antitermination the expression of a subset of the nitrogen-fixation genes whose transcription is activated by the master regulatory system and whose promoter contains transcription termination signals. This study provides a new paradigm for nitrogen-fixation gene regulation.}, keywords = {Bacterial Proteins, Binding Sites, DNA-Binding Proteins, Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial, Geobacter, Nitrogen Fixation, Promoter Regions, Genetic, Protein Kinases, RNA-Binding Proteins, Transcription, Genetic}, issn = {1362-4962}, doi = {10.1093/nar/gkq652}, author = {Ueki, Toshiyuki and Lovley, Derek R} } @article {473, title = {Diversity of promoter elements in a Geobacter sulfurreducens mutant adapted to disruption in electron transfer.}, journal = {Funct Integr Genomics}, volume = {9}, year = {2009}, month = {2009 Feb}, pages = {15-25}, abstract = {The delta-proteobacterium, Geobacter sulfurreducens, can obtain energy by coupling the oxidation of organic matter to the reduction of insoluble Fe(III) or the anode of a microbial fuel cell. Because Fe(III) oxide or the anode surface, in contrast to oxygen, nitrate, or sulfate, is not soluble nor can it be reduced readily, Geobacter species have developed mechanisms which allow electrons to be delivered across outer membrane to the cell surface. OmcB is an outer-membrane c-type cytochrome important for G. sulfurreducens Fe(III) respiration. In the absence of OmcB, cells lost the ability to reduce soluble or insoluble Fe(III). However, the omcB deletion mutant can slowly adapt to growth on soluble Fe(III) over prolonged incubation in the medium with acetate as the electron donor. We discuss available information about predicted or experimentally validated promoters and transcription regulatory sites identified upstream of operons with transcriptional expression significantly changed in the adapted omcB mutant. DNA sequences of upstream regions of coregulated operons in the adapted mutant are divergent, suggesting the presence of recognition sites for different transcriptional regulators and indicating that adaptation of the omcB mutant to growth on soluble Fe(III) has shifted the relevant expression networks involved to a more diverse molecular basis.}, keywords = {Adaptation, Physiological, Electron Transport, Genetic Variation, Geobacter, Mutation, Promoter Regions, Genetic}, issn = {1438-7948}, doi = {10.1007/s10142-008-0094-7}, author = {Krushkal, Julia and Leang, Ching and Barbe, Jose F and Qu, Yanhua and Yan, Bin and Puljic, Marko and Adkins, Ronald M and Lovley, Derek R} } @article {458, title = {Genome-wide analysis of the RpoN regulon in Geobacter sulfurreducens.}, journal = {BMC Genomics}, volume = {10}, year = {2009}, month = {2009}, pages = {331}, abstract = {BACKGROUND: The role of the RNA polymerase sigma factor RpoN in regulation of gene expression in Geobacter sulfurreducens was investigated to better understand transcriptional regulatory networks as part of an effort to develop regulatory modules for genome-scale in silico models, which can predict the physiological responses of Geobacter species during groundwater bioremediation or electricity production. RESULTS: An rpoN deletion mutant could not be obtained under all conditions tested. In order to investigate the regulon of the G. sulfurreducens RpoN, an RpoN over-expression strain was made in which an extra copy of the rpoN gene was under the control of a taclac promoter. Combining both the microarray transcriptome analysis and the computational prediction revealed that the G. sulfurreducens RpoN controls genes involved in a wide range of cellular functions. Most importantly, RpoN controls the expression of the dcuB gene encoding the fumarate/succinate exchanger, which is essential for cell growth with fumarate as the terminal electron acceptor in G. sulfurreducens. RpoN also controls genes, which encode enzymes for both pathways of ammonia assimilation that is predicted to be essential under all growth conditions in G. sulfurreducens. Other genes that were identified as part of the RpoN regulon using either the computational prediction or the microarray transcriptome analysis included genes involved in flagella biosynthesis, pili biosynthesis and genes involved in central metabolism enzymes and cytochromes involved in extracellular electron transfer to Fe(III), which are known to be important for growth in subsurface environment or electricity production in microbial fuel cells. The consensus sequence for the predicted RpoN-regulated promoter elements is TTGGCACGGTTTTTGCT. CONCLUSION: The G. sulfurreducens RpoN is an essential sigma factor and a global regulator involved in a complex transcriptional network controlling a variety of cellular processes.}, keywords = {Bacterial Proteins, DNA, Bacterial, Gene Expression Profiling, Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial, Genome-Wide Association Study, Geobacter, Multigene Family, Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis, Promoter Regions, Genetic, Regulon, RNA Polymerase Sigma 54}, issn = {1471-2164}, doi = {10.1186/1471-2164-10-331}, author = {Leang, Ching and Krushkal, Julia and Ueki, Toshiyuki and Puljic, Marko and Sun, Jun and Ju{\'a}rez, Katy and N{\'u}{\~n}ez, Cinthia and Reguera, Gemma and DiDonato, Raymond and Postier, Bradley and Adkins, Ronald M and Lovley, Derek R} } @article {470, title = {Comparative genomics of Geobacter chemotaxis genes reveals diverse signaling function.}, journal = {BMC Genomics}, volume = {9}, year = {2008}, month = {2008}, pages = {471}, abstract = {BACKGROUND: Geobacter species are delta-Proteobacteria and are often the predominant species in a variety of sedimentary environments where Fe(III) reduction is important. Their ability to remediate contaminated environments and produce electricity makes them attractive for further study. Cell motility, biofilm formation, and type IV pili all appear important for the growth of Geobacter in changing environments and for electricity production. Recent studies in other bacteria have demonstrated that signaling pathways homologous to the paradigm established for Escherichia coli chemotaxis can regulate type IV pili-dependent motility, the synthesis of flagella and type IV pili, the production of extracellular matrix material, and biofilm formation. The classification of these pathways by comparative genomics improves the ability to understand how Geobacter thrives in natural environments and better their use in microbial fuel cells. RESULTS: The genomes of G. sulfurreducens, G. metallireducens, and G. uraniireducens contain multiple (approximately 70) homologs of chemotaxis genes arranged in several major clusters (six, seven, and seven, respectively). Unlike the single gene cluster of E. coli, the Geobacter clusters are not all located near the flagellar genes. The probable functions of some Geobacter clusters are assignable by homology to known pathways; others appear to be unique to the Geobacter sp. and contain genes of unknown function. We identified large numbers of methyl-accepting chemotaxis protein (MCP) homologs that have diverse sensing domain architectures and generate a potential for sensing a great variety of environmental signals. We discuss mechanisms for class-specific segregation of the MCPs in the cell membrane, which serve to maintain pathway specificity and diminish crosstalk. Finally, the regulation of gene expression in Geobacter differs from E. coli. The sequences of predicted promoter elements suggest that the alternative sigma factors sigma28 and sigma54 play a role in regulating the Geobacter chemotaxis gene expression. CONCLUSION: The numerous chemoreceptors and chemotaxis-like gene clusters of Geobacter appear to be responsible for a diverse set of signaling functions in addition to chemotaxis, including gene regulation and biofilm formation, through functionally and spatially distinct signaling pathways.}, keywords = {Amino Acid Sequence, Bacterial Proteins, Chemotaxis, Escherichia coli, Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial, Genome, Bacterial, Genomics, Geobacter, Membrane Proteins, Molecular Sequence Data, Multigene Family, Promoter Regions, Genetic, Sequence Alignment, Sequence Homology, Amino Acid}, issn = {1471-2164}, doi = {10.1186/1471-2164-9-471}, author = {Tran, Hoa T and Krushkal, Julia and Antommattei, Frances M and Lovley, Derek R and Weis, Robert M} } @article {395, title = {A degenerate tripartite DNA-binding site required for activation of ComA-dependent quorum response gene expression in Bacillus subtilis.}, journal = {J Mol Biol}, volume = {381}, year = {2008}, month = {2008 Aug 29}, pages = {261-75}, abstract = {In Bacillus subtilis, the transcription factor ComA activates several biological processes in response to increasing population density. Extracellular peptide signaling is used to coordinate the activity of ComA with population density. At low culture densities, when the concentration of signaling peptides is lowest, ComA is largely inactive. At higher densities, when the concentration of signaling peptides is higher, ComA is active and activates the transcription of at least nine operons involved in the development of competence and in the production of degradative enzymes and antibiotics. We found that ComA binds a degenerate tripartite sequence consisting of three DNA-binding determinants or "recognition elements." Mutational analyses showed that all three recognition elements are required for transcription activation in vivo and for specific DNA binding by ComA in vitro. Degeneracy of the recognition elements in the ComA-binding site is an important regulatory feature for coordinating transcription with population density (i.e., promoters containing an optimized binding site have high activity at low culture density and are no longer regulated in the normal-density-dependent manner). We found that purified ComA forms a dimer in solution, and we propose a model for how two dimers of ComA bind to an odd number of DNA-binding determinants to activate transcription of target genes. This DNA-protein architecture for transcription activation appears to be conserved for ComA homologs in other Bacillus species.}, keywords = {Bacillus subtilis, Bacterial Proteins, Base Sequence, Binding Sites, Dimerization, DNA, Bacterial, DNA-Binding Proteins, Electrophoretic Mobility Shift Assay, Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial, Peptide Synthases, Phosphoprotein Phosphatases, Promoter Regions, Genetic, Protein Binding, Quorum Sensing, Sequence Analysis, DNA, Transcription, Genetic, Transcriptional Activation}, issn = {1089-8638}, doi = {10.1016/j.jmb.2008.06.035}, author = {Griffith, Kevin L and Grossman, Alan D} } @article {394, title = {Inducible protein degradation in Bacillus subtilis using heterologous peptide tags and adaptor proteins to target substrates to the protease ClpXP.}, journal = {Mol Microbiol}, volume = {70}, year = {2008}, month = {2008 Nov}, pages = {1012-25}, abstract = {The ability to manipulate protein levels is useful for dissecting regulatory pathways, elucidating gene function and constructing synthetic biological circuits. We engineered an inducible protein degradation system for use in Bacillus subtilis based on Escherichia coli and Caulobacter crescentusssrA tags and SspB adaptors that deliver proteins to ClpXP for proteolysis. In this system, modified ssrA degradation tags are fused onto the 3{\textquoteright} end of the genes of interest. Unlike wild-type ssrA, these modified tags require the adaptor protein SspB to target tagged proteins for proteolysis. In the absence of SspB, the tagged proteins accumulate to near physiological levels. By inducing SspB expression from a regulated promoter, the tagged substrates are rapidly delivered to the B. subtilis ClpXP protease for degradation. We used this system to degrade the reporter GFP and several native B. subtilis proteins, including, the transcription factor ComA, two sporulation kinases (KinA, KinB) and the sporulation and chromosome partitioning protein Spo0J. We also used modified E. coli and C. crescentus ssrA tags to independently control the degradation of two different proteins in the same cell. These tools will be useful for studying biological processes in B. subtilis and can potentially be modified for use in other bacteria.}, keywords = {Alleles, Bacillus subtilis, Bacterial Proteins, Carrier Proteins, Caulobacter crescentus, DNA-Binding Proteins, Endopeptidase Clp, Escherichia coli, Escherichia coli Proteins, Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial, Genetic Vectors, Green Fluorescent Proteins, Plasmids, Promoter Regions, Genetic, Protein Engineering, RNA, Bacterial, Substrate Specificity}, issn = {1365-2958}, doi = {10.1111/j.1365-2958.2008.06467.x}, author = {Griffith, Kevin L and Grossman, Alan D} } @article {503, title = {Genome-wide expression profiling in Geobacter sulfurreducens: identification of Fur and RpoS transcription regulatory sites in a relGsu mutant.}, journal = {Funct Integr Genomics}, volume = {7}, year = {2007}, month = {2007 Jul}, pages = {229-55}, abstract = {Rel(Gsu) is the single Geobacter sulfurreducens homolog of RelA and SpoT proteins found in many organisms. These proteins are involved in the regulation of levels of guanosine 3{\textquoteright}, 5{\textquoteright} bispyrophosphate, ppGpp, a molecule that signals slow growth and stress response under nutrient limitation in bacteria. We used information obtained from genome-wide expression profiling of the rel(Gsu) deletion mutant to identify putative regulatory sites involved in transcription networks modulated by Rel(Gsu) or ppGpp. Differential gene expression in the rel(Gsu) deletion mutant, as compared to the wild type, was available from two growth conditions, steady state chemostat cultures and stationary phase batch cultures. Hierarchical clustering analysis of these two datasets identified several groups of operons that are likely co-regulated. Using a search for conserved motifs in the upstream regions of these co-regulated operons, we identified sequences similar to Fur- and RpoS-regulated sites. These findings suggest that Fur- and RpoS-dependent gene expression in G. sulfurreducens is affected by Rel(Gsu)-mediated signaling.}, keywords = {Bacterial Proteins, Base Sequence, Gene Deletion, Gene Expression Profiling, Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial, Genes, Bacterial, Genome, Bacterial, Geobacter, Ligases, Mutation, Operon, Promoter Regions, Genetic, Regulatory Sequences, Nucleic Acid, Repressor Proteins, Sigma Factor, Transcription, Genetic}, issn = {1438-793X}, doi = {10.1007/s10142-007-0048-5}, author = {Krushkal, Julia and Yan, Bin and DiDonato, Laurie N and Puljic, Marko and Nevin, Kelly P and Woodard, Trevor L and Adkins, Ronald M and Meth{\'e}, Barbara A and Lovley, Derek R} } @article {507, title = {Heat-shock sigma factor RpoH from Geobacter sulfurreducens.}, journal = {Microbiology}, volume = {153}, year = {2007}, month = {2007 Mar}, pages = {838-46}, abstract = {Recent studies with Myxococcus xanthus have suggested that homologues of the Escherichia coli heat-shock sigma factor, RpoH, may not be involved in the heat-shock response in this delta-proteobacterium. The genome of another delta-proteobacterium, Geobacter sulfurreducens, which is considered to be a representative of the Fe(III)-reducing Geobacteraceae that predominate in a diversity of subsurface environments, contains an rpoH homologue. Characterization of the G. sulfurreducens rpoH homologue revealed that it was induced by a temperature shift from 30 degrees C to 42 degrees C and that an rpoH-deficient mutant was unable to grow at 42 degrees C. The predicted heat-shock genes, hrcA, grpE, dnaK, groES and htpG, were heat-shock inducible in an rpoH-dependent manner, and comparison of promoter regions of these genes identified the consensus sequences for the -10 and -35 promoter elements. In addition, DNA elements identical to the CIRCE consensus sequence were found in promoters of rpoH, hrcA and groES, suggesting that these genes are regulated by a homologue of the repressor HrcA, which is known to bind the CIRCE element. These results suggest that the G. sulfurreducens RpoH homologue is the heat-shock sigma factor and that heat-shock response in G. sulfurreducens is regulated positively by RpoH as well as negatively by the HrcA/CIRCE system.}, keywords = {Adaptation, Physiological, Base Sequence, Binding Sites, Consensus Sequence, DNA, Bacterial, Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial, Genome, Bacterial, Geobacter, Heat-Shock Proteins, Hot Temperature, Molecular Sequence Data, Promoter Regions, Genetic, RNA, Bacterial, RNA, Messenger, Sigma Factor, Transcription, Genetic}, issn = {1350-0872}, doi = {10.1099/mic.0.2006/000638-0}, author = {Ueki, Toshiyuki and Lovley, Derek R} } @article {35, title = {Multiple basic helix-loop-helix proteins regulate expression of the ENO1 gene of Saccharomyces cerevisiae.}, journal = {Eukaryot Cell}, volume = {6}, year = {2007}, month = {2007 May}, pages = {786-96}, abstract = {The basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) eukaryotic transcription factors have the ability to form multiple dimer combinations. This property, together with limited DNA-binding specificity for the E box (CANNTG), makes them ideally suited for combinatorial control of gene expression. We tested the ability of all nine Saccharomyces cerevisiae bHLH proteins to regulate the enolase-encoding gene ENO1. ENO1 was known to be activated by the bHLH protein Sgc1p. Here we show that expression of an ENO1-lacZ reporter was also regulated by the other eight bHLH proteins, namely, Ino2p, Ino4p, Cbf1p, Rtg1p, Rtg3p, Pho4p, Hms1p, and Ygr290wp. ENO1-lacZ expression was also repressed by growth in inositol-choline-containing medium. Epistatic analysis and chromatin immunoprecipitation experiments showed that regulation by Sgc1p, Ino2p, Ino4p, and Cbf1p and repression by inositol-choline required three distal E boxes, E1, E2, and E3. The pattern of bHLH binding to the three E boxes and experiments with two dominant-negative mutant alleles of INO4 and INO2 support the model that bHLH dimer selection affects ENO1-lacZ expression. These results support the general model that bHLH proteins can coordinate different biological pathways via multiple mechanisms.}, keywords = {Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Transcription Factors, beta-Galactosidase, Chromatin Immunoprecipitation, E-Box Elements, Epistasis, Genetic, Evolution, Molecular, Gene Expression Regulation, Fungal, Genes, Dominant, Models, Biological, Mutation, Phosphopyruvate Hydratase, Promoter Regions, Genetic, Recombinant Fusion Proteins, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins}, issn = {1535-9778}, doi = {10.1128/EC.00383-06}, author = {Chen, Meng and Lopes, John M} } @article {512, title = {Computational prediction of RpoS and RpoD regulatory sites in Geobacter sulfurreducens using sequence and gene expression information.}, journal = {Gene}, volume = {384}, year = {2006}, month = {2006 Dec 15}, pages = {73-95}, abstract = {RpoS, the sigma S subunit of RNA polymerase, is vital during the growth and survival of Geobacter sulfurreducens under conditions typically encountered in its native subsurface environments. We investigated the conservation of sites that may be important for RpoS function in G. sulfurreducens. We also employed sequence information and expression microarray data to predict G. sulfurreducens genome sites that may be related to RpoS regulation. Hierarchical clustering identified three clusters of significantly downregulated genes in the rpoS deletion mutant. The search for conserved overrepresented motifs in co-regulated operons identified likely -35 and -10 promoter elements upstream of a number of functionally important G. sulfurreducens operons that were downregulated in the rpoS deletion mutant. Putative -35/-10 promoter elements were also identified in the G. sulfurreducens genome using sequence similarity searches to matrices of -35/-10 promoter elements found in G. sulfurreducens and in Escherichia coli. Due to a sufficient degree of sequence similarity between -35/-10 promoter elements for RpoS, RpoD, and other sigma factors, both the sequence similarity searches and the search for conserved overrepresented motifs using microarray data may identify promoter elements for both RpoS and other sigma factors.}, keywords = {Amino Acid Sequence, Bacterial Proteins, Base Sequence, Citrates, Computational Biology, Conserved Sequence, DNA-Directed RNA Polymerases, Escherichia coli, Escherichia coli Proteins, Gene Deletion, Gene Expression Profiling, Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial, Genes, Bacterial, Genome, Bacterial, Geobacter, Molecular Sequence Data, Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis, Operon, Promoter Regions, Genetic, Sigma Factor, Transcription, Genetic}, issn = {0378-1119}, doi = {10.1016/j.gene.2006.06.025}, author = {Yan, Bin and N{\'u}{\~n}ez, Cinthia and Ueki, Toshiyuki and Esteve-N{\'u}{\~n}ez, Abraham and Puljic, Marko and Adkins, Ronald M and Meth{\'e}, Barbara A and Lovley, Derek R and Krushkal, Julia} } @article {396, title = {Characterization of TetD as a transcriptional activator of a subset of genes of the Escherichia coli SoxS/MarA/Rob regulon.}, journal = {Mol Microbiol}, volume = {56}, year = {2005}, month = {2005 May}, pages = {1103-17}, abstract = {In Escherichia coli, SoxS, MarA and Rob form a closely related subset of the AraC/XylS family of positive regulators, sharing approximately 42\% amino acid sequence identity over the length of SoxS and the ability to activate transcription of a common set of target genes that provide resistance to redox-cycling compounds and antibiotics. On the basis of its approximately 43\% amino acid sequence identity with SoxS, MarA and Rob, TetD, encoded by transposon Tn10, appears to be a fourth member of the subset. However, although its expression has been shown to be negatively regulated by TetC and not inducible by tetracycline, the physiological function of TetD is unknown. Accordingly, in the work presented here, we initiate a molecular characterization of TetD. We show that expression of TetD activates transcription of a subset of the SoxS/MarA/Rob regulon genes and confers resistance to redox-cycling compounds and antibiotics. We show that mutations in the putative TetD binding site of a TetD-activatable promoter and a mutation in the protein{\textquoteright}s N-terminal DNA recognition helix interfere with transcription activation, thereby indicating that TetD directly activates target gene transcription. Finally, we show that TetD, like SoxS and MarA, is intrinsically unstable; however, unlike SoxS and MarA, TetD is not degraded by Lon or any of the cell{\textquoteright}s known cytoplasmic ATP-dependent proteases. Thus, we conclude that TetD is a bona fide member of the SoxS/MarA/Rob subfamily of positive regulators.}, keywords = {Amino Acid Sequence, Binding Sites, DNA, DNA-Binding Proteins, Escherichia coli, Escherichia coli Proteins, Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial, Multigene Family, Promoter Regions, Genetic, Regulon, Tetracycline Resistance, Trans-Activators, Transcription Factors, Transcription, Genetic}, issn = {0950-382X}, doi = {10.1111/j.1365-2958.2005.04599.x}, author = {Griffith, Kevin L and Becker, Stephen M and Wolf, Richard E} } @article {40, title = {Genomic analysis of PIS1 gene expression.}, journal = {Eukaryot Cell}, volume = {4}, year = {2005}, month = {2005 Mar}, pages = {604-14}, abstract = {The Saccharomyces cerevisiae PIS1 gene is essential and required for the final step in the de novo synthesis of phosphatidylinositol. Transcription of the PIS1 gene is uncoupled from the factors that regulate other yeast phospholipid biosynthetic genes. Most of the phospholipid biosynthetic genes are regulated in response to inositol and choline via a regulatory circuit that includes the Ino2p:Ino4p activator complex and the Opi1p repressor. PIS1 is regulated in response to carbon source and anaerobic growth conditions. Both of these regulatory responses are modest, which is not entirely surprising since PIS1 is essential. However, even modest regulation of PIS1 expression has been shown to affect phosphatidylinositol metabolism and to affect cell cycle progression. This prompted the present study, which employed a genomic screen, database mining, and more traditional promoter analysis to identify genes that affect PIS1 expression. A screen of the viable yeast deletion set identified 120 genes that affect expression of a PIS1-lacZ reporter. The gene set included several peroxisomal genes, silencing genes, and transcription factors. Factors suggested by database mining, such as Pho2 and Yfl044c, were also found to affect PIS1-lacZ expression. A PIS1 promoter deletion study identified an upstream regulatory sequence element that was required for carbon source regulation located downstream of three previously defined upstream activation sequence elements. Collectively, these studies demonstrate how a collection of genomic and traditional strategies can be implemented to identify a set of genes that affect the regulation of an essential gene.}, keywords = {Gene Expression Profiling, Gene Expression Regulation, Fungal, Gene Silencing, Genome, Fungal, Glycerol, Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis, Peroxisomes, Phospholipids, Promoter Regions, Genetic, Recombinant Fusion Proteins, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Transferases (Other Substituted Phosphate Groups)}, issn = {1535-9778}, doi = {10.1128/EC.4.3.604-614.2005}, author = {Gardocki, Mary E and Bakewell, Margaret and Kamath, Deepa and Robinson, Kelly and Borovicka, Kathy and Lopes, John M} } @article {537, title = {Regulation of two highly similar genes, omcB and omcC, in a 10 kb chromosomal duplication in Geobacter sulfurreducens.}, journal = {Microbiology}, volume = {151}, year = {2005}, month = {2005 Jun}, pages = {1761-7}, abstract = {The Fe(III)-reducing micro-organism Geobacter sulfurreducens requires an outer-membrane c-type cytochrome, OmcB, for Fe(III) reduction, but a related cytochrome, OmcC, which is 73 \% identical to OmcB, is not required. The omcB and omcC genes are part of a tandem chromosomal duplication consisting of two repeated clusters of four genes. The 2.7 kb sequences preceding omcB and omcC are identical with the exception of a single base pair change. Studies that combined genetic, Northern blotting and primer extension analyses demonstrated that both omcB and omcC are transcribed as monocistronic and polycistronic (orf1-orf2-omcB/omcC) transcripts. All of the promoters for the various transcripts were found to be located within the 2.7 kb identical region upstream of omcB and omcC. The sequences of the promoter regions for the two monocistronic transcripts are identical and equidistant from the omcB or omcC start codons. The promoters for the two polycistronic transcripts, in contrast, are distinct. One is specific for transcription of orf1-orf2-omcB and the other is associated with transcription of orf1-orf2-omcC. Studies with an RpoS-deficient mutant suggested that transcription from all four promoters is RpoS dependent under one or more growth conditions. Deletion of orfR, a gene immediately upstream of orf1-orf2-omcB that encodes a putative transcriptional regulator, significantly lowered the omcB transcription when Fe(III) was the electron acceptor and partially inhibited Fe(III) reduction. In contrast, levels of omcC transcripts were unaffected in the orfR mutant. These results indicate that omcB and omcC operons represent a rare instance in which duplicated operons, located in tandem on the chromosome, have different transcriptional regulation.}, keywords = {Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins, Bacterial Proteins, Blotting, Northern, DNA, Bacterial, Gene Deletion, Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial, Geobacter, Molecular Sequence Data, Operon, Promoter Regions, Genetic, RNA, Bacterial, RNA, Messenger, Sequence Analysis, DNA, Sigma Factor, Transcription, Genetic}, issn = {1350-0872}, doi = {10.1099/mic.0.27870-0}, author = {Leang, Ching and Lovley, Derek R} } @article {823, title = {Measurement of SOS expression in individual Escherichia coli K-12 cells using fluorescence microscopy.}, journal = {Mol Microbiol}, volume = {53}, year = {2004}, month = {2004 Sep}, pages = {1343-57}, abstract = {Many recombination, DNA repair and DNA replication mutants have high basal levels of SOS expression as determined by a sulAp-lacZ reporter gene system on a population of cells. Two opposing models to explain how the SOS expression is distributed in these cells are: (i) the {\textquoteright}Uniform Expression Model (UEM){\textquoteright} where expression is evenly distributed in all cells or (ii) the {\textquoteright}Two Population Model (TPM){\textquoteright} where some cells are highly induced while others are not at all. To distinguish between these two models, a method to quantify SOS expression in individual bacterial cells was developed by fusing an SOS promoter (sulAp) to the green fluorescent protein (gfp) reporter gene and inserting it at attlambda on the Escherichia coli chromosome. It is shown that the fluorescence in sulAp-gfp cells is regulated by RecA and LexA. This system was then used to distinguish between the two models for several mutants. The patterns displayed by priA, dnaT, recG, uvrD, dam, ftsK, rnhA, polA and xerC mutants were explained best by the TPM while only lexA (def), lexA3 (ind-) and recA defective mutants were explained best by the UEM. These results are discussed in a context of how the processes of DNA replication and recombination may affect cells in a population differentially.}, keywords = {Adenosine Triphosphatases, DNA Damage, DNA Helicases, DNA Repair, Escherichia coli K12, Escherichia coli Proteins, Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial, Genes, Reporter, Microscopy, Fluorescence, Models, Genetic, Promoter Regions, Genetic, Recombinant Fusion Proteins, SOS Response (Genetics), Ultraviolet Rays}, issn = {0950-382X}, doi = {10.1111/j.1365-2958.2004.04225.x}, author = {McCool, Jesse D and Long, Edward and Petrosino, Joseph F and Sandler, Hilary A and Rosenberg, Susan M and Sandler, Steven J} } @article {398, title = {Proteolytic degradation of Escherichia coli transcription activators SoxS and MarA as the mechanism for reversing the induction of the superoxide (SoxRS) and multiple antibiotic resistance (Mar) regulons.}, journal = {Mol Microbiol}, volume = {51}, year = {2004}, month = {2004 Mar}, pages = {1801-16}, abstract = {In Escherichia coli, the SoxRS regulon confers resistance to redox-cycling compounds, and the Mar regulon provides a defence against multiple antibiotics. The response regulators, SoxS and MarA, are synthesized de novo in response to their inducing signals and directly activate transcription of a common set of target genes. Although the mechanisms of transcription activation by SoxS and MarA have been well studied, little is known about how the systems are shut-off once the inducing stress has subsided, except that de novo synthesis of the regulators is known to cease almost immediately. Here, we induced the SoxRS regulon and determined that, upon removal of the inducer, expression of the regulon{\textquoteright}s genes quickly returns to the preinduced level. This rapid shut-off indicates that the system is reset by an active process. We found that SoxS is unstable and infer that SoxS degradation is responsible for the rapid return of the system to the ground state upon removal of the inducing signal. We also found that MarA is unstable and that the instability of both proteins is intrinsic and unregulated. We used null mutations of protease genes to identify the proteases involved in the degradation of SoxS and MarA. Among single protease mutations, only lon mutations increased the half-life of SoxS and MarA. In addition, SoxS appeared to be nearly completely stable in a lon ftsH double mutant. Using hexahistidine tags placed at the respective ends of the activators, we found that access to the amino-terminus is essential for the proteolytic degradation.}, keywords = {Base Sequence, Blotting, Western, DNA Primers, DNA-Binding Proteins, Drug Resistance, Bacterial, Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial, Endopeptidases, Escherichia coli, Escherichia coli Proteins, Genes, Bacterial, Half-Life, Hydrolysis, Kinetics, Mutation, Oxidation-Reduction, Promoter Regions, Genetic, Regulon, Trans-Activators, Transcription, Genetic}, issn = {0950-382X}, author = {Griffith, Kevin L and Shah, Ishita M and Wolf, Richard E} } @article {42, title = {Expression of the yeast PIS1 gene requires multiple regulatory elements including a Rox1p binding site.}, journal = {J Biol Chem}, volume = {278}, year = {2003}, month = {2003 Oct 3}, pages = {38646-52}, abstract = {The PIS1 gene is required for de novo synthesis of phosphatidylinositol (PI), an essential phospholipid in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. PIS1 gene expression is unusual because it is uncoupled from the other phospholipid biosynthetic genes, which are regulated in response to inositol and choline. Relatively little is known about regulation of transcription of the PIS1 gene. We reported previously that PIS1 transcription is sensitive to carbon source. To further our understanding of the regulation of PIS1 transcription, we carried out a promoter deletion analysis that identified three regions required for PIS1 gene expression (upstream activating sequence (UAS) elements 1-3). Deletion of either UAS1 or UAS2 resulted in an approximately 45\% reduction in expression, whereas removal of UAS3 yielded an 84\% decrease in expression. A comparison of promoters among several Saccharomyces species shows that these sequences are highly conserved. Curiously, the UAS3 element region (-149 to -138) includes a Rox1p binding site. Rox1p is a repressor of hypoxic genes under aerobic growth conditions. Consistent with this, we have found that expression of a PIS1-cat reporter was repressed under aerobic conditions, and this repression was dependent on both Rox1p and its binding site. Furthermore, PI levels were elevated under anaerobic conditions. This is the first evidence that PI levels are affected by regulation of PIS1 transcription.}, keywords = {Anoxia, Base Sequence, Binding Sites, Carbon, Chloramphenicol O-Acetyltransferase, Choline, Chromatography, Thin Layer, Conserved Sequence, DNA, DNA, Complementary, DNA-Binding Proteins, Gene Deletion, Gene Expression Regulation, Fungal, Genes, Reporter, Inositol, Lipid Metabolism, Models, Biological, Models, Genetic, Molecular Sequence Data, Oxygen, Phospholipids, Plasmids, Promoter Regions, Genetic, Protein Binding, Repressor Proteins, RNA, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins, Transcription, Genetic, Transferases (Other Substituted Phosphate Groups)}, issn = {0021-9258}, doi = {10.1074/jbc.M305251200}, author = {Gardocki, Mary Elizabeth and Lopes, John M} } @article {570, title = {Geobacter sulfurreducens has two autoregulated lexA genes whose products do not bind the recA promoter: differing responses of lexA and recA to DNA damage.}, journal = {J Bacteriol}, volume = {185}, year = {2003}, month = {2003 Apr}, pages = {2493-502}, abstract = {The Escherichia coli LexA protein was used as a query sequence in TBLASTN searches to identify the lexA gene of the delta-proteobacterium Geobacter sulfurreducens from its genome sequence. The results of the search indicated that G. sulfurreducens has two independent lexA genes designated lexA1 and lexA2. A copy of a dinB gene homologue, which in E. coli encodes DNA polymerase IV, is present downstream of each lexA gene. Reverse transcription-PCR analyses demonstrated that, in both cases, lexA and dinB constitute a single transcriptional unit. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays with purified LexA1 and LexA2 proteins have shown that both proteins bind the imperfect palindrome GGTTN(2)CN(4)GN(3)ACC found in the promoter region of both lexA1 and lexA2. This sequence is also present upstream of the Geobacter metallireducens lexA gene, indicating that it is the LexA box of this bacterial genus. This palindrome is not found upstream of either the G. sulfurreducens or the G. metallireducens recA genes. Furthermore, DNA damage induces expression of the lexA-dinB transcriptional unit but not that of the recA gene. However, the basal level of recA gene expression is dramatically higher than that of the lexA gene. Likewise, the promoters of the G. sulfurreducens recN, ruvAB, ssb, umuDC, uvrA, and uvrB genes do not contain the LexA box and are not likely to bind to the LexA1 or LexA2 proteins. G. sulfurreducens is the first bacterial species harboring a lexA gene for which a constitutive expression of its recA gene has been described.}, keywords = {Amino Acid Sequence, Bacterial Proteins, Consensus Sequence, DNA Damage, DNA Polymerase beta, DNA Repair, DNA-Binding Proteins, Electrophoretic Mobility Shift Assay, Gene Expression, Genes, Bacterial, Molecular Sequence Data, Promoter Regions, Genetic, Proteobacteria, Rec A Recombinases, Sequence Alignment, Serine Endopeptidases, Transcription, Genetic}, issn = {0021-9193}, author = {Jara, M{\'o}nica and N{\'u}{\~n}ez, Cinthia and Campoy, Susana and Fern{\'a}ndez de Henestrosa, Antonio R and Lovley, Derek R and Barb{\'e}, Jordi} } @article {43, title = {Opi1p, Ume6p and Sin3p control expression from the promoter of the INO2 regulatory gene via a novel regulatory cascade.}, journal = {Mol Microbiol}, volume = {48}, year = {2003}, month = {2003 May}, pages = {823-32}, abstract = {The INO2 gene of Saccharomyces cerevisiae is required for expression of most of the phospholipid biosynthetic genes. INO2 expression is regulated by a complex cascade that includes autoregulation, Opi1p-mediated repression and Ume6p-mediated activation. To screen for mutants with altered INO2 expression directly, we constructed an INO2-HIS3 reporter that provides a plate assay for INO2 promoter activity. This reporter was used to isolate mutants (dim1) that fail to repress expression of the INO2 gene in an otherwise wild-type strain. The dim1 mutants contain mutations in the OPI1 gene. To define further the mechanism for Ume6p regulation of INO2 expression, we isolated suppressors (rum1, 2, 3) of the ume6Delta mutation that overexpress the INO2-HIS3 gene. Two of the rum mutant groups contain mutations in the OPI1 and SIN3 genes showing that opi1 and sin3 mutations are epistatic to the ume6Delta mutation. These results are surprising given that Ume6p, Sin3p and Rpd3p are known to form a complex that represses the expression of a diverse set of yeast genes. This prompted us to examine the effect of sin3Delta and rpd3Delta mutants on INO2-cat expression. Surprisingly, the sin3Delta allele overexpressed INO2-cat, whereas the rpd3Delta mutant had no effect. We also show that the UME6 gene does not affect the expression of an OPI1-cat reporter. This suggests that Ume6p does not regulate INO2 expression indirectly by regulating OPI1 expression.}, keywords = {Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Transcription Factors, DNA-Binding Proteins, Fungal Proteins, Gene Expression Regulation, Fungal, Genes, Regulator, Genes, Reporter, Genetic Complementation Test, Histone Deacetylases, Methyltransferases, Phenotype, Phospholipids, Promoter Regions, Genetic, Repressor Proteins, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins, Transcription Factors}, issn = {0950-382X}, author = {Kaadige, Mohan R and Lopes, John M} } @article {399, title = {A comprehensive alanine scanning mutagenesis of the Escherichia coli transcriptional activator SoxS: identifying amino acids important for DNA binding and transcription activation.}, journal = {J Mol Biol}, volume = {322}, year = {2002}, month = {2002 Sep 13}, pages = {237-57}, abstract = {SoxS is the direct transcriptional activator of the superoxide regulon. SoxS recognizes a highly degenerate "soxbox" DNA sequence, and activates transcription from class I and class II promoters. SoxS is the smallest member of the AraC/XylS family of transcription regulators whose hallmark is dual helix-turn-helix (HTH) DNA-binding motifs. Evidence suggests that the N-terminal HTH motif of SoxS interacts with a highly conserved region of the soxbox termed recognition element 1 (RE1), while the C-terminal HTH motif interacts with the less conserved recognition element 2 (RE2). In the work described here, we prepared a complete library of 101 SoxS mutants containing single alanine substitutions of SoxS, and we characterized the mutant proteins in vivo and in vitro. With SoxS being closely related to MarA, we analyzed the effects of the SoxS mutations in the context of the MarA-mar crystal structure and with respect to the NMR study of MarA-DNA complexes in solution. From the properties of the alanine substitutions, we conclude the following. (1) Surface-exposed residues of helix 3 and helix 6, the recognition helices of the dual HTH motifs, are important to DNA binding and transcription activation; however, substitutions of residues predicted from the MarA-mar crystal structure to make contact with the sugar-phosphate backbone are more detrimental to DNA binding than mutations predicted to make base-specific contacts. (2) Substitution of several residues within the recognition helix predicted to make base-specific contacts with RE2 have relatively little effect on DNA-binding, suggesting the possibility of alternative protein-DNA interactions than those inferred from the MarA-mar crystal structure. (3) DNA binding and transcription activation were reduced by substitution of conserved amino acid residues comprising the hydrophobic core, presumably because they disrupt the structural integrity of SoxS. (4) Mutant K30A appears to be a positive control mutant defective in a protein-protein interaction with RNA polymerase that is required for transcription activation at all SoxS-dependent promoters because it binds and bends DNA normally but fails to activate transcription from both classes of promoters. Alanine substitutions of surface-exposed residues H3, K5, D9, S31, and V45 confer a similar phenotype. Since these residues are near K30 on the surface of the protein, the surface formed by the six residues may be used to make protein-protein interactions with RNA polymerase that are required for transcription activation at both class I and class II SoxS-dependent promoters. (5) Mutants F74A, D75A, M78A, D79A and Q85A appear to define a surface required for protein-protein interaction with RNA polymerase specifically at class II promoters because these positive control mutants bind and bend DNA normally but are defective in activation of class II promoters but not class I promoters. These SoxS mutants that bind and bend DNA normally but are defective in transcription activation represent the first positive control mutants with putative defects in protein-protein interactions with RNA polymerase among the SoxS/MarA/Rob subset of the AraC/XylS family of transcription regulators.}, keywords = {Alanine, Amino Acid Substitution, Base Sequence, Binding Sites, DNA, DNA-Binding Proteins, Electrophoretic Mobility Shift Assay, Escherichia coli, Escherichia coli Proteins, Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial, Genes, Lethal, Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions, Lac Operon, Models, Molecular, Mutagenesis, Nucleic Acid Conformation, Phenotype, Phosphates, Promoter Regions, Genetic, Protein Binding, Protein Structure, Tertiary, Structure-Activity Relationship, Trans-Activators, Transcriptional Activation}, issn = {0022-2836}, author = {Griffith, Kevin L and Wolf, Richard E} } @article {402, title = {Systematic mutagenesis of the DNA binding sites for SoxS in the Escherichia coli zwf and fpr promoters: identifying nucleotides required for DNA binding and transcription activation.}, journal = {Mol Microbiol}, volume = {40}, year = {2001}, month = {2001 Jun}, pages = {1141-54}, abstract = {SoxS is the direct transcriptional activator of at least 15 genes of the Escherichia coli superoxide regulon. SoxS is small (107 amino acids), binds DNA as a monomer and recognizes a highly degenerate DNA binding site, termed {\textquoteright}soxbox{\textquoteright}. Like other members of the AraC/XylS family, SoxS has two putative helix-turn-helix (HTH) DNA-binding motifs, and it has been proposed that each HTH motif recognizes a highly conserved recognition element of the soxbox. To determine which nucleotides are important for SoxS binding, we conducted a systematic mutagenesis of the DNA binding sites for SoxS in the zwf and fpr promoters and determined the effect of the soxbox mutations on SoxS DNA binding and transcription activation in vivo by measuring beta-galactosidase activity in strains with fusions to lacZ. We found that the sequences GCAC and CAAA, termed recognition elements 1 and 2 (RE 1 and RE 2), respectively, are critical for SoxS binding, as mutations within these elements severely hinder or eliminate SoxS-dependent transcription activation; substitutions within RE 2 (CAAA), however, are tolerated better than changes within RE 1 (GCAC). Although substitutions at the seven positions separating the two REs had only a modest effect on SoxS binding, AT basepairs were favoured within this {\textquoteright}spacer{\textquoteright} region, presumably because, by facilitating DNA bending, they help bring the two recognition elements into proper juxtaposition. We also found that the {\textquoteright}invariant A{\textquoteright} present at position 1 of 14/15 functional soxboxes identified thus far is important for SoxS binding, as a change to any other nucleotide at this position reduced SoxS-dependent transcription by approximately 50\%. In addition, positions surrounding the REs seem to show a context effect, in that certain substitutions there have little or no effect when the RE has the optimal binding sequence, but produce a pronounced effect when the RE has a suboptimal sequence. We propose that these nucleotides play an important role in effecting differential expression from the various promoters. Lastly, we used gel retardation assays to show that alterations in transcription activation in vivo are caused by effects on DNA binding. Based on this exhaustive mutagenesis, we propose the following optimal sequence for SoxS binding: AnVGCACWWWnKRHCAAAHn (n = A, C, G, T; V = A, C, G; W = A, T; K = G, T; R = A, G; H = A, C, T).}, keywords = {Amino Acid Sequence, Bacterial Proteins, Base Sequence, Binding Sites, Carrier Proteins, DNA, Bacterial, Electrophoresis, Escherichia coli, Escherichia coli Proteins, Molecular Sequence Data, Mutagenesis, Promoter Regions, Genetic, Trans-Activators, Transcription Factors, Transcriptional Activation}, issn = {0950-382X}, author = {Griffith, K L and Wolf, R E} } @article {46, title = {The promoter of the yeast INO4 regulatory gene: a model of the simplest yeast promoter.}, journal = {J Bacteriol}, volume = {182}, year = {2000}, month = {2000 May}, pages = {2746-52}, abstract = {In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the phospholipid biosynthetic genes are transcriptionally regulated in response to inositol and choline. This regulation requires the transcriptional activator proteins Ino4p and Ino2p, which form a heterodimer that binds to the UAS(INO) element. We have previously shown that the promoters of the INO4 and INO2 genes are among the weakest promoters characterized in yeast. Because little is known about the promoters of weakly expressed yeast genes, we report here the analysis of the constitutive INO4 promoter. Promoter deletion constructs scanning 1,000 bp upstream of the INO4 gene identified a small region (-58 to -46) that is absolutely required for expression. S1 nuclease mapping shows that this region contains the transcription start sites for the INO4 gene. An additional element (-114 to -86) modestly enhances INO4 promoter activity (fivefold). Thus, the region required for INO4 transcription is limited to 68 bp. These studies also found that INO4 gene expression is not autoregulated by Ino2p and Ino4p, despite the presence of a putative UAS(INO) element in the INO4 promoter. We further report that the INO4 steady-state transcript levels and Ino4p levels are regulated twofold in response to inositol and choline, suggesting a posttranscriptional mechanism of regulation.}, keywords = {Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Transcription Factors, DNA-Binding Proteins, Fungal Proteins, Gene Expression Regulation, Fungal, Promoter Regions, Genetic, Repressor Proteins, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins, Trans-Activators, Transcription Factors}, issn = {0021-9193}, author = {Robinson, K A and Lopes, J M} } @article {403, title = {Interdependence of the position and orientation of SoxS binding sites in the transcriptional activation of the class I subset of Escherichia coli superoxide-inducible promoters.}, journal = {Mol Microbiol}, volume = {34}, year = {1999}, month = {1999 Nov}, pages = {414-30}, abstract = {SoxS is the direct transcriptional activator of the member genes of the Escherichia coli superoxide regulon. At class I SoxS-dependent promoters, e.g. zwf and fpr, whose SoxS binding sites ({\textquoteright}soxbox{\textquoteright}) lie upstream of the -35 region of the promoter, activation requires the C-terminal domain of the RNA polymerase alpha-subunit, while at class II SoxS-dependent promoters, e.g. fumC and micF, whose binding sites overlap the -35 region, activation is independent of the alpha-CTD. To determine whether SoxS activation of its class I promoters shows the same helical phase-dependent spacing requirement as class I promoters activated by catabolite gene activator protein, we increased the 7 bp distance between the 20 bp zwf soxbox and the zwf -35 promoter hexamer by 5 bp and 11 bp, and we decreased the 15 bp distance between the 20 bp fpr soxbox and the fpr -35 promoter hexamer by the same amounts. In both cases, displacement of the binding site by a half or full turn of the DNA helix prevented transcriptional activation. With constructs containing the binding site of one gene fused to the promoter of the other, we demonstrated that the positional requirements are a function of the specific binding site, not the promoter. Supposing that opposite orientation of the SoxS binding site at the two promoters might account for the positional requirements, we placed the zwf and fpr soxboxes in the reverse orientation at the various positions upstream of the promoters and determined the effect of orientation on transcription activation. We found that reversing the orientation of the zwf binding site converts its positional requirement to that of the fpr binding site in its normal orientation, and vice versa. Analysis by molecular information theory of DNA sequences known to bind SoxS in vitro is consistent with the opposite orientation of the zwf and fpr soxboxes.}, keywords = {Bacterial Proteins, Base Sequence, Binding Sites, Escherichia coli, Escherichia coli Proteins, Molecular Sequence Data, Plasmids, Promoter Regions, Genetic, Sequence Analysis, DNA, Superoxides, Trans-Activators, Transcription Factors, Transcription, Genetic, Transcriptional Activation}, issn = {0950-382X}, author = {Wood, T I and Griffith, K L and Fawcett, W P and Jair, K W and Schneider, T D and Wolf, R E} } @article {838, title = {recO and recR mutations delay induction of the SOS response in Escherichia coli.}, journal = {Mol Gen Genet}, volume = {246}, year = {1995}, month = {1995 Jan 20}, pages = {254-8}, abstract = {RecF, RecO and RecR, three of the important proteins of the RecF pathway of recombination, are also needed for repair of DNA damage due to UV irradiation. recF mutants are not proficient in cleaving LexA repressor in vivo following DNA damage: therefore they show a delay of induction of the SOS response. In this communication, by measuring the in vivo levels of LexA repressor using anti-LexA antibodies, we show that recO and recR mutant strains are also not proficient in LexA cleavage reactions. In addition, we show that recO and recR mutations delay induction of beta-galactosidase activity expressed from a lexA-regulated promoter following exposure of cells to UV, thus further supporting the idea that recF, recO and recR gene products are needed for induction of the SOS response.}, keywords = {Bacterial Proteins, beta-Galactosidase, DNA-Binding Proteins, Escherichia coli, Escherichia coli Proteins, Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial, Mutation, Promoter Regions, Genetic, Recombinant Fusion Proteins, Repressor Proteins, Serine Endopeptidases, SOS Response (Genetics), Ultraviolet Rays}, issn = {0026-8925}, author = {Hegde, S and Sandler, S J and Clark, A J and Madiraju, M V} }