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Journal of Bacteriology, December 2004, p. 8443-8452, Vol. 186, No. 24
0021-9193/04/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/JB.186.24.8443-8452.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

The RpoH-Mediated Stress Response in Neisseria gonorrhoeae Is Regulated at the Level of Activity

Lina Laskos, Catherine S. Ryan, Janet A. M. Fyfe, and John K. Davies^*

Australian Bacterial Pathogenesis Research Program, Department of Microbiology, Monash University, Clayton Campus, Victoria, Australia

Received 15 June 2004/ Accepted 6 September 2004

The general stress response in Neisseria gonorrhoeae was investigated. Transcriptional analyses of the genes encoding the molecular chaperones DnaK, DnaJ, and GrpE suggested that they are transcribed from ³² (RpoH)-dependent promoters upon exposure to stress. This was confirmed by mutational analysis of the ³² promoter of dnaK. The gene encoding the gonococcal RpoH sigma factor appears to be essential, as we could not isolate viable mutants. Deletion of an unusually long rpoH leader sequence resulted in elevated levels of transcription, suggesting that this region is involved in negative regulation of RpoH expression during normal growth. Transcriptional analyses and protein studies determined that regulation of the RpoH-mediated stress response is different from that observed in most other species, in which regulation occurs predominantly at the transcriptional and translational levels. We suggest that an increase in the activity of preformed RpoH is primarily responsible for induction of the stress response in N. gonorrhoeae.

Present address: Hepatitis Research Lab, Victorian Infectious Diseases Reference Laboratory, North Melbourne, VIC 3051, Australia.

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