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J Bacteriol, February 1998, p. 785-792, Vol. 180, No. 4
0021-9193/98/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1998, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
Constricted Flux through the Branched-Chain Amino Acid
Biosynthetic Enzyme Acetolactate Synthase Triggers Elevated
Expression of Genes Regulated by rpoS and Internal
Acidification
Tina K.
Van
Dyk,1,2,*
Brenda L.
Ayers,1,
Robin W.
Morgan,2 and
Robert A.
Larossa1
Central Research and Development Department,
DuPont Co., Wilmington, Delaware
19880-0173,1 and
Department of
Animal and Food Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware
19717-13032
Received 22 September 1997/Accepted 11 December 1997
The first common enzyme of isoleucine and valine biosynthesis,
acetolactate synthase (ALS), is specifically inhibited by the herbicide
sulfometuron methyl (SM). To further understand the physiological
consequences of flux alterations at this point in metabolism,
Escherichia coli genes whose expression was induced by
partial inhibition of ALS were sought. Plasmid-based fusions of random
E. coli DNA fragments to Photorhabdus
luminescens luxCDABE were screened for bioluminescent
increases in actively growing liquid cultures slowed 25% by the
addition of SM. From more than 8,000 transformants, 12 unique
SM-inducible promoter-lux fusions were identified. The
lux reporter genes were joined to seven uncharacterized open reading frames, f253a, f415,
frvX, o513, o521, yciG,
and yohF, and five known genes, inaA,
ldcC, osmY, poxB, and
sohA. Inactivation of the rpoS-encoded sigma
factor,
S, reduced basal expression levels of six of
these fusions 10- to 200-fold. These six genes defined four new members
of the
S regulon, f253a, ldcC,
yciG, and yohF, and included two known members,
osmY and poxB. Furthermore, the weak acid
salicylate, which causes cytoplasmic acidification, also induced
increased bioluminescence from seven SM-inducible
promoter-lux fusion-containing strains, namely, those with
fusions of the
S-controlled genes and inaA.
The pattern of gene expression changes suggested that restricted
ALS activity may result in intracellular acidification and
induction of the
S-dependent stress response.
*
Corresponding author. Mailing address: Central Research
and Development Department, DuPont Co., P.O. Box 80173, Wilmington, DE
19880-0173. Phone: (302) 695-1430. Fax: (302) 695-9183. E-mail: Tina.K.Van-Dyk{at}usa.dupont.com.

Present address: Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10021.
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