Thermoregulation of Prodigiosin Biosynthesis by is Controlled at the Transcriptional Level and Requires HexS.

Several biotypes of the Gram-negative bacterium produce the tri-pyrole pigment and secondary metabolite prodigiosin. The biological activities of this pigment have therapeutic potential. For over half a century it has been known that biosynthesis of prodi giosin is inhibited when bacteria are grown at elevated temperatures, yet the fundamental mechanism underlying this thermoregulation has not been characterized.