Cell cycle expression and transcriptional regulation of DNA topoisomerase IV genes in caulobacter

DNA replication and differentiation are closely coupled during the Caulobacter crescentus cell cycle. We have previously shown that DNA topoisomerase IV (topo IV), which is encoded by the parE and parC genes, is required for chromosomal partitioning, cell division, and differentiation in this bacterium (D. Ward and A. Newton, Mol. Microbiol. 26:897-910, 1997). We have examined the cell cycle regulation of parE and parC and report here that transcription of these topo IV genes is induced during the swarmer-to-stalked-cell transition when cells prepare for initiation of DNA synthesis. The regulation of parE and parC expression is not strictly coordinated, however. The rate of parE transcription increases ca. 20-fold during the G1-to-S-phase transition and in this respect, its pattern of regulation is similar to those of several other genes required for chromosome duplication. Transcription from the parC promoter, by contrast, is induced only two- to threefold during this cell cycle period. Steady-state ParE levels are also regulated, increasing ca. twofold from low levels in swarmer cells to a maximum immediately prior to cell division, while differences in ParC levels during the cell cycle could not be detected. These results suggest that topo IV activity may be regulated primarily through parE expression. The presumptive promoters of the topo IV genes display striking similarities to, as well as differences from, the consensus promoter recognized by the major Caulobacter sigma factor sigma73. We also present evidence that a conserved 8-mer sequence motif located in the spacers between the -10 and -35 elements of the parE and parC promoters is required for maximum levels of parE transcription, which raises the possibility that it may function as a positive regulatory element. The pattern of parE transcription and the parE and parC promoter architecture suggest that the topo IV genes belong to a specialized subset of cell cycle-regulated genes required for chromosome replication.