The putative sigma factor KatF is regulated posttranscriptionally during carbon starvation

Transcriptional and translational 'lacZ reporter fusions were constructed to the katF gene, which encodes a putative sigma factor centrally involved in starvation-mediated general resistance in Escherichia coli. Transcription of katF was found to increase ca. twofold after carbon starvation in minimal medium. The protein fusion containing the longest fragment of katF induced ca. eightfold under the same conditions, whereas fusions to shorter segments showed only a twofold increase in expression. The protein fusion was expressed at higher levels in a strain containing a katF::Tn10 mutation, indicating katF autoregulation. The posttranscriptional regulation of katF by starvation did not require a component of the spent minimal medium. katF was also posttranscriptionally regulated during entry into late log phase in complex medium. This induction was coincident with an increase in katE transcription, suggesting that the cellular concentration of KatF directly followed the induction of the katF protein fusion.