1887

Abstract

In , expression of the gene, encoding glutamate dehydrogenase, and the operon, involved in arginine catabolism, requires SigL (σ)-containing RNA polymerase as well as RocR, a positive regulator of the NtrC/NifA family. The RocR protein was purified and shown to bind specifically to the intergenic region located between and the operon. DNaseI footprinting experiments were used to define the RocR-binding site as an 8 bp inverted repeat, separated by one base pair, forming an imperfect palindrome which is present twice within the intergenic region, acting as both a downstream activating sequence (DAS) and an upstream activating sequence (UAS). Point mutations in either of these two sequences significantly lowered expression of both and . This bidirectional enhancer element retained partial activity even when moved 9 kb downstream of the promoter. Electron microscopy experiments indicated that an intrinsically curved region is located between the UAS/DAS region and the promoter of the operon. This curvature could facilitate interaction of RocR with σ-RNA polymerase at the promoter.

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2003-03-01
2024-03-28
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