Control of Neisseria gonorrhoeae pilin gene expression by environmental factors: involvement of the pilA/pilB regulatory genes.

The control of the expression of the pilin gene (pilE) in Neisseria gonorrhoeae under a wide variety of growth conditions has been studied. The expression of pilE was measured using transcriptional fusions between pilE and the gene encoding chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT), and the level of pilin production was measured by Western blot analysis. Many of the conditions tested affected both growth rate and pilin gene expression (e.