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Volume 149, Issue 5

The LicT protein acts as both a positive and a negative regulator of loci within the regulon of Free

Abstract

An open reading frame (ORF) that would encode a putative antiterminator protein (LicT) of the BglG family was identified in the genomic DNA sequence of . A DNA sequence that would encode a potential ribonucleic antiterminator (RAT) site in the mRNA at which the putative antitermination protein LicT would bind was located immediately downstream from this ORF. These putative antitermination components are upstream of a glucose-independent -glucoside-utilization system that is responsible for aesculin utilization by NG8 in the presence of glucose. It was hypothesized that these putative regulatory components were an important mechanism that was involved with the controlled expression of the locus. A strain of containing a  : : Ω-Kan2 insertional mutation was created. This strain could not hydrolyse aesculin in the presence of glucose. The transcriptional activity associated with other genes from the regulon was determined in the  : : Ω-Kan2 genetic background using transcriptional fusions and -galactosidase assays to determine the effect of LicT on these loci. The LicT protein had no significant effect on the expression of the promoter, a regulator of the locus. However, it is essential for the optimal expression of . These data correlate with the phenotype observed on aesculin plates for the wild-type strain NG8 and the  : : Ω-Kan2 strain. Thus, the glucose-independent -glucoside-specific phosphotransferase system (PTS) regulon in relies on LicT for BglP expression and, in turn, aesculin transport in the presence of glucose. Interestingly, LicT also seems to negatively regulate the expression of the promoter region. In addition, the presence of the gene has been shown to be able to activate a cryptic -glucoside-specific operon found in .

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  • Published Online:
Keyword(s): PTS, phosphotransferase system and RAT, ribonucleic antiterminator
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2003-05-01
2024-04-18
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The LicT protein acts as both a positive and a negative regulator of loci within the bgl regulon of Streptococcus mutans
Microbiology 149, 1333 (2003); https://doi.org/10.1099/mic.0.26067-0
/content/journal/micro/10.1099/mic.0.26067-0
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