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Genes Regulated by TorR, the Trimethylamine Oxide Response Regulator of Shewanella oneidensis

Christophe Bordi, Mireille Ansaldi, Stéphanie Gon, Cécile Jourlin-Castelli, Chantal Iobbi-Nivol, and Vincent Méjean^*

Laboratoire de Chimie Bactérienne, Institut de Biologie Structurale et Microbiologie, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, 13402 Marseille Cedex 20, France

Received 3 February 2004/ Accepted 18 April 2004

The torECAD operon encoding the trimethylamine oxide (TMAO) respiratory system of Shewanella oneidensis is positively controlled by the TorS/TorR two-component system when TMAO is available. Activation of the tor operon occurs upon binding of the phosphorylated response regulator TorR to a single operator site containing the direct repeat nucleotide sequence TTCATAN₄TTCATA. Here we show that the replacement of any nucleotide of one TTCATA hexamer prevented TorR binding in vitro, meaning that TorR specifically interacts with this DNA target. Identical direct repeat sequences were found in the promoter regions of torR and of the new gene torF (SO4694), and they allowed TorR binding to both promoters. Real-time PCR experiments revealed that torR is negatively autoregulated, whereas torF is strongly induced by TorR in response to TMAO. Transcription start site location and footprinting analysis indicate that the operator site at torR overlaps the promoter –10 box, whereas the operator site at torF is centered at –74 bp from the start site, in agreement with the opposite role of TorR in the regulation of the two genes. Since torF and torECAD are positively coregulated by TorR, we propose that the TorF protein plays a role related to TMAO respiration.

Present address: Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115.

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