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Journal of Bacteriology, March 1999, p. 1838-1846, Vol. 181, No. 6
Department of Biological Chemistry, Faculty
of Agriculture, Yamaguchi University, Yamaguchi 753-8515, Japan
Received 12 October 1998/Accepted 18 December 1998
When grown in rich medium, Escherichia coli exhibits a
drastic reduction of the number of viable cells at the beginning of stationary phase. The decline of cell viability was retarded by disruption of the ssnA gene, which was identified as a gene
subject to RpoS-dependent negative regulation. Moreover,
ssnA expression was induced at the time of decline of cell
viability at early stationary phase. The viability decline was
augmented in the rpoS background, and this augmentation was
suppressed by ssnA mutation. Cloning of the
ssnA gene in a multicopy plasmid, pBR322, caused small
colony formation and slow growth in liquid medium. Cells harboring the
ssnA clone showed aberrant morphology that included enlarged and filamentous shapes. The gene product was identified as a
44-kDa soluble protein, but its function could not be deduced by
homology searching. From these results, we conclude that
ssnA is expressed in response to a phase-specific signal(s)
and that its expression level is controlled by RpoS, by a mechanism
which may contribute to determination of cell number in the stationary phase.
0021-9193/99/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
Characterization of the ssnA Gene, Which
Is Involved in the Decline of Cell Viability at the Beginning of
Stationary Phase in Escherichia coli
and
*
Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of
Biological Chemistry, Faculty of Agriculture, Yamaguchi University,
1677-1 Yoshida, Yamaguchi 753-8515, Japan. Phone: 81-839-33-5869. Fax: 81-839-33-5820. E-mail: yamada{at}agr.yamaguchi-u.ac.jp.
Present address: Department of Molecular Genetics, National
Institute of Genetics, Mishima, Shizuoka 411, Japan.
Present address: Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine,
Tokyo Medical and Dental University, 1-5-45 Yushima, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo
113-0034, Japan.
Journal of Bacteriology, March 1999, p. 1838-1846, Vol. 181, No. 6
0021-9193/99/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
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