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Volume 149, Issue 2

CsgD, a regulator of curli and cellulose synthesis, also regulates serine hydroxymethyltransferase synthesis in K-12 Free

Abstract

The homologous CsgD and AgfD proteins are members of the FixJ/UhpA/LuxR family and are proposed to regulate curli (thin aggregative fibres) and cellulose production by and serovar Typhimurium, respectively. A plasmid containing part of the gene was isolated during a screen for multicopy suppressors of glycine auxotrophy caused by deleting the gene in . The sequence of the plasmid suggests it encodes a chimaeric protein. Plasmids containing the intact or gene also caused suppression. Cells transformed with the recombinant plasmids contained higher serine hydroxymethyltransferase (SHMT) activity than controls. The increase could also be monitored by assaying -galactosidase activity from a reporter strain with part of the SHMT gene, , fused to . The increase in SHMT activity was sufficient to correct the glycine auxotrophy of strains lacking . The recombinant plasmids also enabled K-12 strains that are not curli-proficient to make curli. Curlin, the major component of curli, contains more glycine than normal proteins. It is proposed that CsgD upregulates to facilitate synthesis of curli. It is suggested that recombinant plasmids produce enough CsgD or chimaeric protein to titrate out a ligand that switches CsgD into its inactive form. As a result, sufficient active CsgD is present to activate genes in its regulon. It is concluded that CsgD increases expression of the gene either directly or indirectly.

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  • Accepted:
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Keyword(s): DHFR, dihydrofolate reductase , FEP, folate end-product(s) (thymine, glycine, histidine, methionine, adenine and pantothenic acid) , SHMT, serine hydroxymethyltransferase and THF, tetrahydrofolate
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2003-02-01
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CsgD, a regulator of curli and cellulose synthesis, also regulates serine hydroxymethyltransferase synthesis in Escherichia coli K-12
Microbiology 149, 525 (2003); https://doi.org/10.1099/mic.0.25841-0
/content/journal/micro/10.1099/mic.0.25841-0
/content/journal/micro/10.1099/mic.0.25841-0
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