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A new class of proteins regulating gene expression in enterobacteria
1Microbial Pathogenesis Unit, Université Catholique de Louvain, UCL 54.90, Brussels, Belgium.
Molecular Microbiology
|January 1, 1994
Summary
Yersinia enterocolitica YmoA and E. coli Hha proteins are functionally interchangeable regulators of gene expression. These similar bacterial proteins, belonging to a new family, also influence transposition events.
Area of Science:
- Microbiology
- Bacterial Genetics
- Molecular Biology
Background:
- YmoA (Yersinia enterocolitica) and Hha (Escherichia coli) are similar bacterial proteins.
- Their function involves downregulating gene expression.
- YmoA mutants exhibit phenotypes similar to histone-like protein mutants.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the functional interchangeability of YmoA and Hha.
- To explore the role of Hha in transposition.
- To identify homologous genes in other enterobacteria.
Main Methods:
- Gene complementation experiments using the hha gene from E. coli to complement a ymoA mutation in Y. enterocolitica.
- Genetic experiments to assess Hha's effect on transposition.
- Southern blot analysis to detect homologous genes.
Main Results:
- The hha gene successfully complemented the ymoA mutation, demonstrating functional interchangeability between YmoA and Hha.
- Hha was shown to stimulate transposition events in vivo.
- Homologous hha genes were detected in Citrobacter diversus, Shigella flexneri, Shigella dysenteriae, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Salmonella typhimurium.
Conclusions:
- YmoA and Hha are functionally interchangeable bacterial proteins.
- They represent a new family of gene expression downregulators in enterobacteria.
- These proteins may also play a role in regulating transposition.