Abstract
The DNA sequence of the gyr genes from Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium revealed strong similarity between gyrB and its counterpart in Escherichia coli. However, the gyrA gene showed similarity to the E. coli homologue only downstream from the Pribnow box of the promoter, with the sequence upstream diverging markedly. Since this region encompasses the binding sites for the Fis DNA binding protein in E. coli, we investigated the possibility that the gyrA genes in the two species might differ in their responses to this regulatory protein. Fis was found to act as a transcriptional repressor of both gyr genes in S. enterica. In electrophoretic mobility shift assays, Fis was found to bind to both the gyrA and gyrB promoters of S. enterica, despite the strong divergence from the E. coli sequence on the part of the former. The binding sites were mapped by DNase I protection assays, and the results are consistent with conservation of the mechanism of Fis-mediated repression between the two bacterial species.
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Acknowledgements
We thank Dr K. T. Hughes for the fis::cat strain TH2285, Arlene Kelly for performing the fis complementation experiment, and the Health Research Board of Ireland and Science Foundation Ireland for financial support. The research described in this paper was performed in compliance with current laws governing genetic experimentation in the Republic of Ireland
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Communicated by W. Goebel
An erratum to this article is available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00438-003-0916-1.
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Keane, O.M., Dorman, C.J. The gyr genes of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium are repressed by the factor for inversion stimulation, Fis. Mol Gen Genomics 270, 56–65 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00438-003-0896-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00438-003-0896-1