The Bacillus subtilis rsbU gene product is necessary for RsbX-dependent regulation of sigma B.

sigma B is a secondary sigma factor of Bacillus subtilis. sigma B-dependent transcription is induced when B. subtilis enters the stationary phase of growth or is exposed to any of a number of different environmental stresses.

Isolation of a Bacillus subtilis spoIIGA allele that suppresses processing-negative mutations in the Pro-sigma E gene (sigE).

sigma E, a sporulation-essential sigma factor of Bacillus subtilis, is formed by a developmentally regulated proteolysis which removes 27 to 29 amino acids from the amino terminus of an inactive precursor protein (Pro-sigma E). A mutation which facilitates the conversion of inefficiently processed Pro-sigma E variants into mature sigma E was identified and mapped to spoIIGA. The isolation of such a mutation argues that SpoIIGA is directly involved in the Pro-sigma E processing reaction.

Gene expression in mycobacteria: transcriptional fusions based on xylE and analysis of the promoter region of the response regulator mtrA from Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

Understanding promoter regulation and signal-transduction systems in pathogenic mycobacteria is critical for uncovering the processes that govern interactions of these bacteria with the human host. In order to develop additional genetic tools for analysis of mycobacterial promoters, the xyIE gene from Pseudomonas was tested as a transcriptional fusion reporter in fast- and slow-growing mycobacteria. Initially, its utility was demonstrated by expression behind the hsp60 promoter in Mycobacterium smegmatis and Mycobacterium bovis BCG.

Gene cluster controlling conversion to alginate-overproducing phenotype in Pseudomonas aeruginosa: functional analysis in a heterologous host and role in the instability of mucoidy.

Conversion to mucoidy, caused by the overproduction of the exopolysaccharide alginate in laboratory and cystic fibrosis strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, can occur via frameshift or nonsense mutations in the second gene of the algU mucA mucB cluster. The first gene of the cluster, algU, encodes a putative alternative sigma factor required for algD transcription. The algD gene encodes a critical alginate biosynthetic enzyme and is invariably activated in mucoid P.

Identification of lactoferrin-binding proteins from Treponema pallidum subspecies pallidum and Treponema denticola.

Lactoferrin-binding or -associated proteins were identified in Treponema pallidum subspecies pallidum and Treponema denticola by affinity column chromatography using human lactoferrin and detergent-solubilized, radiolabelled spirochaetes. Two discrete polypeptides of T. pallidum with masses of 45 and 40 kDa and a broad band from 29-34 kDa exhibited association with human apo- and partially ferrated lactoferrin.

Interactions between a Bacillus subtilis anti-sigma factor (RsbW) and its antagonist (RsbV).

The activity of sigma B, a secondary sigma factor of Bacillus subtilis, is primarily controlled by an anti-sigma factor protein (RsbW) that binds to sigma B and blocks its ability to form an RNA polymerase holoenzyme (E-sigma B). Inhibition of sigma B by RsbW is counteracted by RsbV, a protein that is essential for the activation of sigma B-dependent transcription. When crude B.

Analysis of the DNA-binding domain of the HSV-1 origin-binding protein.

In order to understand DNA-protein interactions at the origin of DNA replication in herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1), we have undertaken an analysis of the DNA-binding domain of the origin-binding protein (OBP) and its mechanism of binding to the Oris sequence of HSV-1. Mutant DNA-binding domains were constructed, expressed in vitro, and used to test for binding by gel shift analysis. A C-terminal deletion mutant was functional in binding, thereby redefining the C-terminal boundary of the DNA-binding domain at amino acid 822.

Characterization of plasmid pVT745 isolated from Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans.

A 25.1-kb plasmid, pVT745, was isolated from Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans strain VT745. This plasmid hybridized under stringent conditions to chromosomal DNA from 15 A.

Sequence analysis of scrA and scrB from Streptococcus sobrinus 6715.

The complete nucleotide sequences of Streptococcus sobrinus 6715 scrA and scrB, which encode sucrose-specific enzyme II of the phosphoenolpyruvate-dependent phosphotransferase system and sucrose-6-phosphate hydrolase, respectively, have been determined. These two genes were transcribed divergently, and the initiation codons of the two open reading frames were 192 bp apart. The transcriptional initiation sites were determined by primer extension analysis, and the putative promoter regions of these two genes overlapped partially.