A repressor-antirepressor pair links two loci controlling light-induced carotenogenesis in Myxococcus xanthus

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Abstract

The light-inducible carB operon encodes all but one of the structural genes for carotenogenesis in Myxococcus xanthus. It is transcriptionally controlled by two proteins expressed from two unlinked genetic loci: CarS from the light-inducible carQRS operon, and CarA from the light-independent carA operon. CarA represses transcription from the carB promoter (PB) in the dark, and CarS counteracts this on illumination. The CarA sequence revealed a helix-turn-helix DNA-binding motif of the type found in bacterial MerR transcriptional factors, whereas CarS contains no known DNA-binding motif. Here, we examine the molecular interplay between CarA and CarS. We demonstrate the following. (i) Whereas CarS exhibits no DNA binding in vitro, CarA binds specifically to a region encompassing PB to form at least two distinct complexes. (ii) A palindrome located between positions -46 and -63 relative to the transcription start point is essential but not sufficient for the formation of the two CarA-DNA complexes observed. (iii) CarS abrogates the specific DNA binding of CarA. CarA is therefore a repressor and CarS an antirepressor. (iv) CarS physically interacts with CarA; thus, the functional interaction between them is mediated by protein-protein interactions.

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López-Rubio, J. J., Elías-Arnanz, M., Padmanabhan, S., & Murillo, F. J. (2002). A repressor-antirepressor pair links two loci controlling light-induced carotenogenesis in Myxococcus xanthus. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 277(9), 7262–7270. https://doi.org/10.1074/jbc.M110351200

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