GenR, an IclR-Type Regulator, Activates and Represses the Transcription of gen Genes Involved in 3-Hydroxybenzoate and Gentisate Catabolism in Corynebacterium glutamicum

摘要

The genes required for 3-hydroxybenzoate and gentisate catabolism in Corynebacterium glutamicum are closely clustered in three operons. GenR, an IclR-type regulator, can activate the transcription of genKH and genDFM operons in response to 3-hydroxybenzoate and gentisate, and it can repress its own expression. Footprinting analyses demonstrated that GenR bound to four sites with different affinities. Two GenR-binding sites (DFMn01 and DFMn02) were found to be located between positions ?41 and ?84 upstream of the ?35 and ?10 regions of the genDFM promoter, which was involved in positive regulation of genDFM transcription. The GenR binding site R-KHn01 (located between positions ?47 and ?16) overlapped the ?35 region of the genKH promoter sequence and is involved in positive regulation of its transcription. The binding site R-KHn02, at which GenR binds to its own promoter, was found within a footprint extending from position ?44 to ?67. It appeared to be involved in negative regulation of the activity of the genR promoter. A consensus motif with a 5-bp imperfect palindromic sequence [ATTCC-N7(5)-GGAAT] was identified among all four GenR binding sites and found to be necessary to GenR regulation through site-directed mutagenesis. The results reveal a new regulatory function of the IclR family in the catabolism of aromatic compounds.