Structural modeling of the ExuR and UxuR transcription factors of E. coli: search for the ligands affecting their regulatory properties.

Gammaproteobacteria get energy for their growth from different carbon sources using either glycolysis or alternative metabolic pathways induced in stress conditions. These metabolic switches are coordinated by complex interplay of regulatory proteins sensing concentrations of available metabolites by mechanisms yet to be understood. Here, we use two transcriptional regulators, ExuR and UxuR, controlling d-galacturonate (d-gal) and d-glucuronate metabolism in Escherichia coli, as the targets for computational search of low-molecular compounds capable to bind their ligand-binding domains.