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Journal of Bacteriology, April 1999, p. 2411-2421, Vol. 181, No. 8
0021-9193/99/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
kdgREcc Negatively Regulates Genes for
Pectinases, Cellulase, Protease, HarpinEcc, and a Global
RNA Regulator in Erwinia carotovora subsp.
carotovora
Yang
Liu,
Guoqiao
Jiang,
Yaya
Cui,
Asita
Mukherjee,
Wei Lei
Ma, and
Arun K.
Chatterjee*
Plant Sciences Unit, University of Missouri,
Columbia, Missouri 65211
Received 10 November 1998/Accepted 3 February 1999
Erwinia carotovora subsp. carotovora
produces extracellular pectate lyase (Pel), polygalacturonase (Peh),
cellulase (Cel), and protease (Prt). The concerted actions of these
enzymes largely determine the virulence of this plant-pathogenic
bacterium. E. carotovora subsp. carotovora
also produces HarpinEcc, the elicitor of the hypersensitive
reaction. We document here that KdgREcc (Kdg,
2-keto-3-deoxygluconate; KdgR, general repressor of genes involved in
pectin and galacturonate catabolism), a homolog of the E. chrysanthemi repressor, KdgREch and the
Escherichia coli repressor, KdgREco, negatively
controls not only the pectinases, Pel and Peh, but also Cel, Prt, and
HarpinEcc production in E. carotovora
subsp. carotovora. The levels of pel-1,
peh-1, celV, and
hrpNEcc transcripts are markedly affected by
KdgREcc. The KdgREcc
mutant is
more virulent than the KdgREcc+ parent. Thus,
our data for the first time establish a global regulatory role for
KdgREcc in E. carotovora subsp.
carotovora. Another novel observation is the negative
effect of KdgREcc on the transcription of rsmB
(previously aepH), which specifies an RNA regulator
controlling exoenzyme and HarpinEcc production. The levels
of rsmB RNA are higher in the
KdgREcc
mutant than in the
KdgREcc+ parent. Moreover, by DNase I
protection assays we determined that purified KdgREcc
protected three 25-bp regions within the transcriptional unit of
rsmB. Alignment of the protected sequences revealed the
21-mer consensus sequence of the KdgREcc-binding site as
5'-G/AA/TA/TGAAA[N6]TTTCAG/TG/TA-3'.
Two such KdgREcc-binding sites occur in
rsmB DNA in a close proximity to each other within nucleotides +79 and +139 and the third KdgREcc-binding site
within nucleotides +207 and +231. Analysis of lacZ
transcriptional fusions shows that the KdgR-binding sites negatively
affect the expression of rsmB. KdgREcc also
binds the operator DNAs of pel-1 and peh-1 genes and represses expression of a pel1-lacZ and a
peh1-lacZ transcriptional fusions. We conclude that
KdgREcc affects extracellular enzyme production by two
ways: (i) directly, by inhibiting the transcription of exoenzyme genes;
and (ii) indirectly, by preventing the production of a global RNA
regulator. Our findings support the idea that KdgREcc
affects transcription by promoter occlusion, i.e., preventing the
initiation of transcription, and by a roadblock mechanism, i.e., by
affecting the elongation of transcription.
*
Corresponding author. Mailing address: Plant Sciences
Unit, University of Missouri, 108 Waters Hall, Columbia, MO 65211. Phone: (573) 882-1892. Fax: (573) 882-0588. E-mail:
chatterjeea{at}missouri.edu.

Journal series 12,848 of the Missouri Agricultural Experiment
Station.
Journal of Bacteriology, April 1999, p. 2411-2421, Vol. 181, No. 8
0021-9193/99/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
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