The -24/-12 promoter comes of age

A new bacterial promoter type has been identified in the last few years. Originally designated as nif (= nitrogen fixation) or ntr (= nitrogen regulation) consensus promoter, it is now evident that this promoter occurs in many different bacterial species and is used not only for genes involved in nitrogen assimilation but also for genes determining many other unrelated metabolic functions. The general features of this type of promoter are (i) the conserved -24(GG)/-12(GC) consensus sequence, (ii) its recognition by a specific RNA polymerase sigma factor, sigma 54, which is encoded by the ntrA gene (synonyms: glnF, rpoN, rpoE), and (iii) the requirement for a transcriptional regulatory protein to activate the expression of the associated genes. In addition, many (but not all) of these genes possess a promoter-upstream activator sequence (enhancer) which is the target site for the binding of the activating protein and is required for maximal expression. In some cases, in which gene expression does not appear to be dependent on the presence of upstream binding sites, the activating protein may interact directly with the RNA polymerase-promoter complex. In conclusion, the expression from all -24/-12 consensus promoters known to date is positively controlled.