Previous Article | Next Article ![]()
J. Bacteriol., Jan 1998, 20-26, Vol 180, No. 1
HP Cheng and GC Walker
The Rhizobium meliloti exoS gene is involved in regulating the production
of succinoglycan, which plays a crucial role in the establishment of the
symbiosis between R. meliloti Rm1021 and its host plant, alfalfa. The
exoS96::Tn5 mutation causes the upregulation of the succinoglycan
biosynthetic genes, thereby resulting in the overproduction of
succinoglycan. Through cloning and sequencing, we found that the exoS gene
is a close homolog of the Agrobacterium tumefaciens chvG gene, which has
been proposed to encode the sensor protein of the ChvG-ChvI two-component
regulatory system, a member of the EnvZ-OmpR family. Further analyses
revealed the existence of a newly discovered A. tumefaciens chvI homolog
located just upstream of the R. meliloti exoS gene. R. meliloti ChvI may
serve as the response regulator of ExoS in a two-component regulatory
system. By using ExoS- specific antibodies, it was found that the ExoS
protein cofractionated with membrane proteins, suggesting that it is
located in the cytoplasmic membrane. By using the same antibodies, it was
shown that the exoS96::Tn5 allele encodes an N-terminal truncated
derivative of ExoS. The cytoplasmic histidine kinase domain of ExoS was
expressed in Escherichia coli and purified, as was the R. meliloti ChvI
protein. The ChvI protein autophosphorylated in the presence of
acetylphosphate, and the ExoS cytoplasmic domain fragment
autophosphorylated at a histidine residue in the presence of ATP. The ChvI
protein was phosphorylated in the presence of ATP only when the histidine
kinase domain of ExoS was also present. We propose a model for regulation
of succinoglycan production by R. meliloti through the ExoS-ChvI
two-component regulatory system.
Copyright © 1998, American Society for Microbiology
Succinoglycan production by Rhizobium meliloti is regulated through the ExoS-ChvI two-component regulatory system [In Process Citation]
Biology Department, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge 02139, USA.
This article has been cited by other articles:
Copyright © 2009 by the American Society for Microbiology. For an alternate route to Journals.ASM.org, visit: http://intl-journals.asm.org | More Info»