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Characterization of EvgAS-YdeO-GadE Branched Regulatory Circuit Governing Glutamate-Dependent Acid Resistance in Escherichia coli

Zhuo Ma,¹ Nobuhisa Masuda,^2, and John W. Foster^1*

Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of South Alabama College of Medicine, Mobile, Alabama,¹ Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts²

Received 3 July 2004/ Accepted 6 August 2004

Escherichia coli prefers growth in neutral pH environments but can withstand extremely acidic conditions (pH 2) for long periods. Of the four E. coli systems that contribute to acid resistance, one, the glutamate-dependent system, is remarkable in its efficacy and regulatory complexity. The resistance mechanism involves the intracellular consumption of protons by the glutamate decarboxylase isozymes GadA and GadB. The antiporter GadC then exports the product, -aminobutyric acid, in exchange for fresh glutamate. A microarray study using overexpressed regulators uncovered evgAS and ydeO as potential regulators of gadE, now known to encode the essential activator of the gadA and gadBC genes. Examination of evgA and ydeO under normal expression conditions revealed that their products do activate gadE expression but only under specific conditions. They were important during exponential growth in acidified minimal medium containing glucose but were unnecessary for gadE expression in stationary-phase cells grown in complex medium. The response regulator EvgA activates gadE directly and indirectly via induction of the AraC-like regulator ydeO. Evidence obtained using gadE-lacZ operon fusions also revealed that GadE was autoinduced. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays indicated that EvgA, YdeO, and GadE bind to different regions upstream of gadE, indicating they all act directly at the gadE promoter. Since GadE controls the expression of numerous genes besides gadA and gadBC, the relevance of these regulatory circuits extends beyond acid resistance.

Present address: Biological Research Laboratories, Sankyo Co., Ltd., 1-2-58 Hiromachi, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo 140-8710, Japan.

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