Journal of Bacteriology, December 2001, p. 7206-7212, Vol. 183, No. 24
0021-9193/01/$04.00+0 DOI: 10.1128/JB.183.24.7206-7212.2001
Copyright © 2001, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
Departamento de Genética Molecular, Instituto de Fisiología Celular, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, 04510 Mexico City, Mexico1; Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 021152; and Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan 481093
Received 20 August 2001/Accepted 27 September 2001
The Arc (anoxic redox control) two-component signal transduction system of Escherichia coli, which comprises the tripartite ArcB sensor kinase and the ArcA response regulator, modulates the expression of numerous operons in response to redox conditions of growth. We demonstrate that the arcA and arcB genes of Haemophilus influenzae specify a two-component system. The Arc proteins of the two bacterial species sufficiently resemble each other that they can participate in heterologous transphosphorylation in vitro. Moreover, the Arc system of H. influenzae mediates transcriptional control according to the redox condition of growth both autologously in its own host and homologously in E. coli, indicating a high degree of functional conservation of the signal transduction system. The H. influenzae ArcB, however, lacks the PAS domain present in the region of E. coli ArcB linking the transmembrane to the cytosolic catalytic domains. Because the PAS domain participates in signal reception in a variety of sensory proteins, including sensors of molecular oxygen and redox state, a similar role was previously ascribed to it in ArcB. Our results demonstrate that the ArcB protein of H. influenzae mediates signal transduction in response to redox conditions of growth despite the absence of the PAS domain.
This article has been cited by other articles:
| Appl. Environ. Microbiol. | Infect. Immun. | Eukaryot. Cell |
|---|---|---|
| Mol. Cell. Biol. | J. Virol. | Microbiol. Mol. Biol. Rev. |
| ALL ASM JOURNALS |