H-NS regulation of IraD and IraM antiadaptors for control of RpoS degradation

RpoS, the master sigma factor during stationary phase and under a variety of stress conditions, is regulated at multiple levels, including regulated degradation. Degradation is dependent upon ClpXP and the RssB adaptor protein. H-NS, a nucleoid-associated protein, affects the regulated degradation of RpoS; in the absence of H-NS, RpoS is stable. The mechanisms involved in this regulation were not known. We have found that H-NS inhibits the expression of iraD and iraM, the genes coding for two antiadaptor proteins that stabilize RpoS when overexpressed. The regulation by H-NS of iraM is independent from the previously demonstrated regulation by the PhoP/PhoQ two-component system. Moreover, differences in the behavior of several hns alleles are explained by a role for StpA, an H-NS-like protein, in the regulation of RpoS stability. This finding parallels recent observations for a role of StpA in regulation of RpoS stability in Salmonella.