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Journal of Bacteriology, June 2001, p. 3293-3302, Vol. 183, No. 11
0021-9193/01/$04.00+0 DOI: 10.1128/JB.183.11.3293-3302.2001
Copyright © 2001, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
Functional Analysis of 14 Genes That Constitute the
Purine Catabolic Pathway in Bacillus subtilis and Evidence
for a Novel Regulon Controlled by the PucR Transcription
Activator
Anna C.
Schultz,1
Per
Nygaard,2 and
Hans H.
Saxild1,*
Section for Molecular Microbiology,
BioCentrum-DTU, Technical University of Denmark, 2800 Lyngby,1 and Department of Biological
Chemistry, University of Copenhagen, 1307 Copenhagen,2 Denmark
Received 6 December 2000/Accepted 2 March 2001
The soil bacterium Bacillus subtilis has developed a
highly controlled system for the utilization of a diverse array of
low-molecular-weight compounds as a nitrogen source when the preferred
nitrogen sources, e.g., glutamate plus ammonia, are exhausted. We have
identified such a system for the utilization of purines as nitrogen
source in B. subtilis. Based on growth studies of strains
with knockout mutations in genes, complemented with enzyme analysis, we
could ascribe functions to 14 genes encoding enzymes or proteins of the
purine degradation pathway. A functional xanthine dehydrogenase requires expression of five genes (pucA, pucB, pucC, pucD,
and pucE). Uricase activity is encoded by the
pucL and pucM genes, and a uric acid transport
system is encoded by pucJ and pucK. Allantoinase is encoded by the pucH gene, and allantoin
permease is encoded by the pucI gene. Allantoate
amidohydrolase is encoded by pucF. In a pucR
mutant, the level of expression was low for all genes tested,
indicating that PucR is a positive regulator of puc gene
expression. All 14 genes except pucI are located in a gene
cluster at 284 to 285° on the chromosome and are contained in six
transcription units, which are expressed when cells are grown with
glutamate as the nitrogen source (limiting conditions), but not when
grown on glutamate plus ammonia (excess conditions). Our data suggest
that the 14 genes and the gde gene, encoding guanine
deaminase, constitute a regulon controlled by the pucR gene
product. Allantoic acid, allantoin, and uric acid were all found to
function as effector molecules for PucR-dependent regulation of
puc gene expression. When cells were grown in the presence of glutamate plus allantoin, a 3- to 10-fold increase in expression was
seen for most of the genes. However, expression of the
pucABCDE unit was decreased 16-fold, while expression of
pucR was decreased 4-fold in the presence of allantoin. We
have identified genes of the purine degradation pathway in B. subtilis and showed that their expression is subject to both
general nitrogen catabolite control and pathway-specific control.
*
Corresponding author. Mailing address: Section for
Molecular Microbiology, BioCentrum-DTU, Technical University of
Denmark, Building 301, 2800 Lyngby, Denmark. Phone: 45 25 24 95. Fax:
45 88 26 60. E-mail: hans.h.saxild{at}biocentrum.dtu.dk
Journal of Bacteriology, June 2001, p. 3293-3302, Vol. 183, No. 11
0021-9193/01/$04.00+0 DOI: 10.1128/JB.183.11.3293-3302.2001
Copyright © 2001, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
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