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Updated: Aug 10, 2026

In Situ Measurement and Correlation of Cell Density and Light Emission of Bioluminescent Bacteria
Published on: June 28, 2018
Nucleotide sequence of the regulatory locus controlling expression of bacterial genes for bioluminescence
1Agouron Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037.
Abstract:
Production of light by the marine bacterium Vibrio fischeri and by recombinant hosts containing cloned lux genes is controlled by the density of the culture. Density-dependent regulation of lux gene expression has been shown to require a locus consisting of the luxR and luxI genes and two closely linked divergent promoters. As part of a genetic analysis to understand the regulation of bioluminescence, we have sequenced the region of DNA containing this control circuit. Open reading frames corresponding to luxR and luxI were identified; transcription start sites were defined by S1 nuclease mapping and sequences resembling promoter elements were located.
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