HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via CrossRef Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Grandvalet, C. Articles by Lereclus, D. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Grandvalet, C. Articles by Lereclus, D. Agricola Articles by Grandvalet, C. Articles by Lereclus, D.

Identification of genes involved in the activation of the Bacillus thuringiensis inhA metalloprotease gene at the onset of sporulation

Unité de Biochimie Microbienne, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique URA 2172, Institut Pasteur, 25 rue du Docteur Roux, 75724 Paris Cedex 15, France¹
Station de Recherche de Lutte Biologique, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, La Minière, 78285 Guyancourt, France²

Author for correspondence: Didier Lereclus. Tel: +33 1 45 68 88 13. Fax: +33 1 45 68 89 38. e-mail: lereclus{at}pasteur.fr

The immune inhibitor A (InhA) metalloprotease from Bacillus thuringiensis specifically cleaves antibacterial proteins produced by the insect host, suggesting that it may contribute to the overall virulence of B. thuringiensis. The transcriptional regulation of the inhA gene in both B. thuringiensis and Bacillus subtilis was investigated. Using a transcriptional inhA'–lacZ fusion, it was shown that inhA expression is activated at the onset of sporulation. However, the transcriptional start site of inhA is similar to ^A-dependent promoters, and deletion of the sporulation-specific sigma factors ^F or ^E had no effect on inhA expression in B. subtilis. The DNA region upstream from inhA contains two genes encoding polypeptides similar to the SinI and SinR regulators of B. subtilis. SinR is a DNA-binding protein regulating gene expression and SinI inhibits SinR activity. Overexpression of the sin genes affects the expression of the inhA'–lacZ transcriptional fusion in B. thuringiensis: early induction of inhA expression was observed when sinI was overexpressed, whereas inhA expression was reduced in a strain overexpressing sinR, suggesting that inhA transcription is repressed, directly or indirectly, by SinR. inhA transcription was greatly reduced in B. thuringiensis and B. subtilis spo0A mutants. Analysis of the inhA'–lacZ expression in abrB and abrB–spo0A mutants of B. subtilis indicates that the Spo0A-dependent regulation of inhA expression depends on AbrB, which is known to regulate expression of transition state and sporulation genes in B. subtilis.

Keywords: transcriptional regulation, protease, AbrB, Spo0A, Sin

The GenBank/EMBL/DDBJ accession number for the sequence reported in this paper is AF287346.

^a Present address: ENSBANA, Département de Microbiologie, 1 Esplanade Erasme, 21000 Dijon, France.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				B. G. Bobay, G. A. Mueller, R. J. Thompson, A. G. Murzin, R. A. Venters, M. A. Strauch, and J. Cavanagh NMR Structure of AbhN and Comparison with AbrBN: FIRST INSIGHTS INTO THE DNA BINDING PROMISCUITY AND SPECIFICITY OF AbrB-LIKE TRANSITION STATE REGULATOR PROTEINS J. Biol. Chem., July 28, 2006; 281(30): 21399 - 21409. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				A. I. Aronson, C. Bell, and B. Fulroth Plasmid-Encoded Regulator of Extracellular Proteases in Bacillus anthracis J. Bacteriol., May 1, 2005; 187(9): 3133 - 3138. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. Fedhila, E. Guillemet, P. Nel, and D. Lereclus Characterization of Two Bacillus thuringiensis Genes Identified by In Vivo Screening of Virulence Factors Appl. Envir. Microbiol., August 1, 2004; 70(8): 4784 - 4791. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				C. Beltramo, C. Grandvalet, F. Pierre, and J. Guzzo Evidence for Multiple Levels of Regulation of Oenococcus oeni clpP-clpL Locus Expression in Response to Stress J. Bacteriol., April 1, 2004; 186(7): 2200 - 2205. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. Fedhila, M. Gohar, L. Slamti, P. Nel, and D. Lereclus The Bacillus thuringiensis PlcR-Regulated Gene inhA2 Is Necessary, but Not Sufficient, for Virulence J. Bacteriol., May 1, 2003; 185(9): 2820 - 2825. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. Fedhila, P. Nel, and D. Lereclus The InhA2 Metalloprotease of Bacillus thuringiensis Strain 407 Is Required for Pathogenicity in Insects Infected via the Oral Route J. Bacteriol., June 15, 2002; 184(12): 3296 - 3304. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]