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Osmoregulation of the fatty acid receptor gene fadL in Escherichia coli

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Abstract

The fadL gene of Escherichia coli codes for an outer membrane protein that is involved in the uptake of long-chain fatty acids. Uptake is regulated by environmental osmolarity, and decreases when the cells are grown under conditions of high osmolarity. A temperature-sensitive mutant that requires fatty acid for growth at 42° C was unable to grow at the high temperature even in the presence of fatty acid if the medium contained 10% sucrose. Promoter activity of the fadL gene in vivo was repressed by high osmolarity in a FadR repressor null mutant. Furthermore, in vitro transcription of the fadL gene was strongly repressed by the addition of OmpR and EnvZ proteins. The results of gel retardation and DNase I protection experiments indicated that OmpR, after incubation with the protein kinase EnvZ, specifically binds to at least four sites around the fadL promoter, two upstream and two downstream from the transcriptional start site. These results suggest that transcription of the fadL gene is osmotically regulated by the OmpREnvZ two-component system.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Microbial Genetics, National Institute of Genetics, l, 111 Yata, 411, Mishima, Shizuoka-ken, Japan

    Atsushi Higashitani, Hiroshi Hara & Kensuke Horiuchi

  2. Faculty of Science, Toho University, Miyama 2-2-1, 274, Funabashi, Chiba, Japan

    Yukinobu Nishimura

  3. School of Agriculture, Nagoya University, 464, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, Japan

    Hirofumi Aiba & Takeshi Mizuno

Authors
  1. Atsushi Higashitani
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  2. Yukinobu Nishimura
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  3. Hiroshi Hara
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  4. Hirofumi Aiba
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  5. Takeshi Mizuno
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  6. Kensuke Horiuchi
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Communicated by W. Arber

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Higashitani, A., Nishimura, Y., Hara, H. et al. Osmoregulation of the fatty acid receptor gene fadL in Escherichia coli . Molec. Gen. Genet. 240, 339–347 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00280384

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00280384

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