Defect in expression of heat-shock proteins at high temperature in xthA mutants

Escherichia coli mutants lacking exonuclease III (xthA) are defective in the induction of heat-shock proteins upon severe heat-shock treatment (upshift from 30 to 50 degrees C) but not mild heat-shock treatment (upshift from 30 to 42 degrees C). We show that this defect is due to the xthA mutation by complementation. Furthermore, increasing the gene dosage of xthA+ prolongs the synthesis of heat shock proteins seen after a shift to 42 degrees C. Increasing the gene dosage of htpR+ partially suppresses the defect of xthA mutants in the synthesis of heat-shock proteins at 50 degrees C. When an xthA strain was incubated at 42 degrees C before a shift to 50 degrees C, it was then able to carry out the synthesis of heat-shock proteins at 50 degrees C.