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Journal of Bacteriology, August 2000, p. 4384-4393, Vol. 182, No. 16
Lehrstuhl für Mikrobiologie,
Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, D-91058 Erlangen, Germany
Received 3 February 2000/Accepted 17 May 2000
The NfrA protein, an oxidoreductase from the soil bacterium
Bacillus subtilis, is synthesized during the stationary
phase and in response to heat. Analysis of promoter mutants revealed that the nfrA gene belongs to the class III heat shock
genes in B. subtilis. An approximate 10-fold induction at
both the transcriptional and the translational levels was found after
thermal upshock. This induction resulted from enhanced synthesis of
mRNA. Genetic and Northern blot analyses revealed that nfrA
and the gene downstream of nfrA are transcribed as a
bicistronic transcriptional unit. The unstable full-length transcript
is processed into two short transcripts encoding nfrA and
ywcH. The nfrA-ywcH operon is not induced by
salt stress or by ethanol. According to previously published data, the
transcription of class III genes in general is activated in response to
the addition of these stressors. However, this conclusion is based on
experiments which lacked a valid control. Therefore, it seems possible
that the transcription of all class III genes is specifically induced
by heat shock.
0021-9193/00/$04.00+0
Copyright © 2000, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
Transcription of the nfrA-ywcH Operon
from Bacillus subtilis Is Specifically Induced in Response
to Heat
*
Corresponding author. Mailing address: Lehrstuhl
für Mikrobiologie, Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg,
Staudstr. 5, D-91058 Erlangen, Germany. Phone: 49 9131 8528084. Fax: 49 9131 8528082. E-mail: rallmans{at}biologie.uni-erlangen.de.
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