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Transcription in the prpC-yloQ region in Bacillus subtilis

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Abstract

The prpC and prkC genes encode two proteins with opposing activities, eukaryotic-like protein phosphatase and protein kinase involved in the sporulation and biofilm formation processes. The prpC gene overlaps 3 bp of the prkC gene; prkC is followed by the essential gene, yloQ. The organisation of the prpC, prkC and yloQ genes is conserved among several Gram-positive bacteria. In this work, we have found two promoters which function within the region of these genes and we also described conditions in which these promoters become activated. One promoter appears to be located upstream of prpC resulting in transcription of both prpC and prkC, as well as the yloQ gene. A second promoter is located 7 bp upstream of the start codon of yloQ. The yloQ promoter was activated during ethanol stress, but was sigmaB-independent. We also showed that prpC, prkC and yloQ genes form an operon.

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Abbreviations

ORF:

Open reading frame

DTT:

DL-dithiothretiol

ONPG:

2-nitrophenyl-β-O-galactopyranoside

ONP:

2-nitrophenol

dNTP:

Mixture of deoxytriphosphate nucteotides dATP, dCTP, dGTP and dTTP

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Acknowledgements

We thank Professor I. Barry Holland for his interest and critical reading of the manuscript. These studies were supported by grants from the Polish State Committee for Scientific Research (KBN; projects no. 6 P04A 056 20 and 3 P04A 065 23) and Association pour la Recherche sur le Cancer.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medical Biotechnology, Intercollegiate Faculty of Biotechnology, Medical University of Gdańsk, Dębinki st. 1, 80-211, Gdańsk, Poland

    Adam Iwanicki & Michal Obuchowski

  2. Department of Molecular Biology, University of Gdańsk, Kladki st. 24, 80-822, Gdańsk, Poland

    Krzysztof Hinc & Grzegorz Węgrzyn

  3. Institute of Genetics and Microbiology, University of Paris-Sud, 91405, Orsay Cedex, France

    Simone Seror

Authors
  1. Adam Iwanicki
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  2. Krzysztof Hinc
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  3. Simone Seror
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  4. Grzegorz Węgrzyn
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  5. Michal Obuchowski
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Correspondence to Michal Obuchowski.

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Iwanicki, A., Hinc, K., Seror, S. et al. Transcription in the prpC-yloQ region in Bacillus subtilis . Arch Microbiol 183, 421–430 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00203-005-0015-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00203-005-0015-2

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