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Journal of Bacteriology, December 1998, p. 6203-6206, Vol. 180, No. 23
0021-9193/98/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1998, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

The General Stress Sigma Factor sigma S of Escherichia coli Is Induced during Diauxic Shift from Glucose to Lactose

Daniela Fischer,1 Antje Teich,2 Peter Neubauer,2 and Regine Hengge-Aronis1,*

Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, 78457 Konstanz,1 and Institute for Biotechnology, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, 06120 Halle,2 Germany

Received 7 August 1998/Accepted 28 September 1998

The general stress sigma factor sigma S (RpoS) of Escherichia coli is strongly induced in response to glucose starvation. This increase in the cellular sigma S level is due to stabilization of sigma S, which under non-stress conditions is subject to rapid proteolysis. In the present study, it is demonstrated that sigma S is also induced during the diauxic shift from glucose to lactose, i.e., under conditions of glucose exhaustion in the presence of another, less-preferred carbon source that eventually gets utilized. This sigma S induction, which is due to stabilization, is transient and precedes the induction of beta -galactosidase. In parallel, sigma S-dependent genes are transiently activated, as was shown here for osmY. Although sigma S can mediate transcription of lacZ in vitro, sigma S does not contribute to the induction of beta -galactosidase during the diauxic lag phase. Rather, the induction of sigma S and the general stress response during the diauxic shift plays the role of a rapidly activated emergency system, which is shut off again as soon as the cells are able to cope with the stress situation by utilizing a more specific and more economical system.


* Corresponding author. Present address: Institute of Plant Physiology and Microbiology, Department of Biology, Free University of Berlin, Königin-Luise-Str. 12-16a, 14195 Berlin, Germany. Phone: (49)-30-838-3119. Fax: (49)-30-838-3118. E-mail: RHENGGEA{at}2EDAT.FU-BERLIN.DE.


Journal of Bacteriology, December 1998, p. 6203-6206, Vol. 180, No. 23
0021-9193/98/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1998, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.



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