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The BglG group of antiterminators: a growing family of bacterial regulators

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Abstract

The product of thebglGgene of Escherichiacoliwas among the first bacterial antiterminators to be identified and characterized. Since the elucidation ten years ago of its role in the regulation of thebgloperonof E. coli,a large number of homologies have been discovered in both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. Often the homologues of BglG in other organisms are also involved in regulating β-glucoside utilization. Surprisingly, in many cases, they mediate antitermination to regulate a variety of other catabolic functions. Because of the high degree of conservation of thecis-acting regulatory elements, antiterminators from one organism can function in another. Generally the antiterminator protein itself is negatively regulated by phosphorylation by a component of the phosphotransferase system. This family of proteins thus represents a highly evolved regulatory system that is conserved across evolutionarily distant genuses.

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  1. Developmental Biology and Genetics Laboratory, Indian Institute of Science, 560012, Bangalore, India

    Subramony Mahadevan

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  1. Subramony Mahadevan
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Mahadevan, S. The BglG group of antiterminators: a growing family of bacterial regulators. J. Biosci. 22, 505–513 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02703196

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02703196

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