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J. Bacteriol., 12 1996, 7234-7240, Vol 178, No. 24
E Mathew, J Zhi and M Freundlich
Expression of the degradative D-amino acid dehydrogenase (dad) operon is
known to be increased when Escherichia coli is grown in the presence of D-
or L-alanine. Alanine is thought to act as an inducer to block the action
of a postulated repressor. This operon is also believed to be regulated by
catabolite repression. We have used in vivo and in vitro experiments that
show that the dad repressor is the leucine- responsive regulatory protein
(Lrp). dad expression in a dad-lacZ operon fusion strain was increased
four- to sevenfold when cells were grown in minimal medium containing
alanine or leucine. A strain lacking Lrp had high-level constitutive dad
expression. Gel retardation and footprinting studies revealed that Lrp
binds in vitro to multiple sites over a large area in the dad promoter
region. This binding was reduced by alanine or leucine. In vitro
transcription assays, using a plasmid template and primer extension
analysis, identified three major dad transcripts (Tr1, Tr2, and Tr3). The
formation of these transcripts was differentially regulated by cyclic
AMP-cyclic AMP receptor protein complex, and each was strongly repressed by
Lrp. Alanine or leucine completely (for Tr1 and Tr2) or partially (for Tr3)
reversed Lrp inhibition. Site-directed mutagenesis of an Lrp binding site
strongly reduced Lrp binding and prevented Lrp repression of dad
transcription in vivo and in vitro. Taken together, these results strongly
suggest that Lrp and alanine or leucine act directly to repress and induce,
respectively, transcription of the dad operon.
Copyright © 1996, American Society for Microbiology
Lrp is a direct repressor of the dad operon in Escherichia coli
Department of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, State University of New York, Stony Brook 11794, USA.
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