This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Haack, K. R.
Right arrow Articles by Mellies, J. L.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Haack, K. R.
Right arrow Articles by Mellies, J. L.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Infection and Immunity, January 2003, p. 384-392, Vol. 71, No. 1
0019-9567/03/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/IAI.71.1.384-392.2003
Copyright © 2003, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Interaction of Ler at the LEE5 (tir) Operon of Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli

Kenneth R. Haack, Christopher L. Robinson, Kristie J. Miller,{dagger} Jonathan W. Fowlkes, and Jay L. Mellies*

Biology Department, Reed College, Portland, Oregon 97202

Received 1 March 2002/ Returned for modification 7 May 2002/ Accepted 18 September 2002

The genome of enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) encodes a global regulator, Ler (locus of enterocyte effacement [LEE]-encoded regulator), which activates expression of several polycistronic operons within the 35.6-kb LEE pathogenicity island, including the LEE2-LEE3 divergent operon pair containing overlapping -10 regions and the LEE5 (tir) operon. Ler is a predicted 15-kDa protein that exhibits amino acid similarity with the nucleoid protein H-NS. In order to study Ler-mediated activation of virulence operons in EPEC, we used a molecular approach to characterize the interactions of purified Ler protein with the upstream regulatory sequences of the LEE5 operon. We determined the cis-acting DNA sequences necessary for Ler binding at LEE5 by mobility shift and DNase I protection assays, demonstrating that Ler acts directly at LEE5 by binding sequences between positions -190 and -73 in relation to the transcriptional start site. Based on the molecular weight of Ler, the similarity to H-NS, and the extended region of protection observed in a DNase I footprint at LEE5, we hypothesized that multiple Ler proteins bind upstream of the LEE5 promoter to increase transcriptional activity from a distance. Using an hns deletion strain, we demonstrated that like the LEE2-LEE3 operon pair, H-NS represses LEE5 transcription. We describe a model in which Ler activates transcription at both divergent overlapping paired and single promoters by displacing H-NS, which results in the disruption of a repressing nucleoprotein complex.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Biology Department, Reed College, 3203 S.E. Woodstock Blvd., Portland, OR 97202. Phone: (503) 771-1112, ext. 7964. Fax: (503) 777-7773. E-mail: jay.mellies{at}reed.edu.

Editor: V. J. DiRita

{dagger} Present address: Molecular Microbiology and Immunology Department, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR 97201.

Infection and Immunity, January 2003, p. 384-392, Vol. 71, No. 1
0019-9567/03/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/IAI.71.1.384-392.2003
Copyright © 2003, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Bhatt, S., Edwards, A. N., Nguyen, H. T. T., Merlin, D., Romeo, T., Kalman, D. (2009). The RNA Binding Protein CsrA Is a Pleiotropic Regulator of the Locus of Enterocyte Effacement Pathogenicity Island of Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli. Infect. Immun. 77: 3552-3568 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Mellies, J. L., Larabee, F. J., Zarr, M. A., Horback, K. L., Lorenzen, E., Mavor, D. (2008). Ler interdomain linker is essential for anti-silencing activity in enteropathogenic Escherichia coli. Microbiology 154: 3624-3638 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Stoebel, D. M., Free, A., Dorman, C. J. (2008). Anti-silencing: overcoming H-NS-mediated repression of transcription in Gram-negative enteric bacteria. Microbiology 154: 2533-2545 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Shifrin, Y., Peleg, A., Ilan, O., Nadler, C., Kobi, S., Baruch, K., Yerushalmi, G., Berdichevsky, T., Altuvia, S., Elgrably-Weiss, M., Abe, C., Knutton, S., Sasakawa, C., Ritchie, J. M., Waldor, M. K., Rosenshine, I. (2008). Transient Shielding of Intimin and the Type III Secretion System of Enterohemorrhagic and Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli by a Group 4 Capsule. J. Bacteriol. 190: 5063-5074 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Garcia-Angulo, V. A., Deng, W., Thomas, N. A., Finlay, B. B., Puente, J. L. (2008). Regulation of Expression and Secretion of NleH, a New Non-Locus of Enterocyte Effacement-Encoded Effector in Citrobacter rodentium. J. Bacteriol. 190: 2388-2399 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Crane, J. K., Naeher, T. M., Shulgina, I., Zhu, C., Boedeker, E. C. (2007). Effect of Zinc in Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli Infection. Infect. Immun. 75: 5974-5984 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Kendall, M. M., Rasko, D. A., Sperandio, V. (2007). Global Effects of the Cell-to-Cell Signaling Molecules Autoinducer-2, Autoinducer-3, and Epinephrine in a luxS Mutant of Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli. Infect. Immun. 75: 4875-4884 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Mellies, J. L., Barron, A. M. S., Carmona, A. M. (2007). Enteropathogenic and Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli Virulence Gene Regulation. Infect. Immun. 75: 4199-4210 [Full Text]  
  • Torres, A. G., Lopez-Sanchez, G. N., Milflores-Flores, L., Patel, S. D., Rojas-Lopez, M., Martinez de la Pena, C. F., Arenas-Hernandez, M. M. P., Martinez-Laguna, Y. (2007). Ler and H-NS, Regulators Controlling Expression of the Long Polar Fimbriae of Escherichia coli O157:H7. J. Bacteriol. 189: 5916-5928 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Russell, R. M., Sharp, F. C., Rasko, D. A., Sperandio, V. (2007). QseA and GrlR/GrlA Regulation of the Locus of Enterocyte Effacement Genes in Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli. J. Bacteriol. 189: 5387-5392 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Navarre, W. W., McClelland, M., Libby, S. J., Fang, F. C. (2007). Silencing of xenogeneic DNA by H-NS--facilitation of lateral gene transfer in bacteria by a defense system that recognizes foreign DNA. Genes Dev. 21: 1456-1471 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Sharp, F. C., Sperandio, V. (2007). QseA Directly Activates Transcription of LEE1 in Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli. Infect. Immun. 75: 2432-2440 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Mellies, J. L., Haack, K. R., Galligan, D. C. (2007). SOS Regulation of the Type III Secretion System of Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli. J. Bacteriol. 189: 2863-2872 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Walters, M., Sperandio, V. (2006). Autoinducer 3 and Epinephrine Signaling in the Kinetics of Locus of Enterocyte Effacement Gene Expression in Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli.. Infect. Immun. 74: 5445-5455 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Walters, M., Sircili, M. P., Sperandio, V. (2006). AI-3 Synthesis Is Not Dependent on luxS in Escherichia coli.. J. Bacteriol. 188: 5668-5681 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Navarre, W. W., Porwollik, S., Wang, Y., McClelland, M., Rosen, H., Libby, S. J., Fang, F. C. (2006). Selective Silencing of Foreign DNA with Low GC Content by the H-NS Protein in Salmonella. Science 313: 236-238 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Moreira, C. G., Palmer, K., Whiteley, M., Sircili, M. P., Trabulsi, L. R., Castro, A. F. P., Sperandio, V. (2006). Bundle-Forming Pili and EspA Are Involved in Biofilm Formation by Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli. J. Bacteriol. 188: 3952-3961 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Barba, J., Bustamante, V. H., Flores-Valdez, M. A., Deng, W., Finlay, B. B., Puente, J. L. (2005). A Positive Regulatory Loop Controls Expression of the Locus of Enterocyte Effacement-Encoded Regulators Ler and GrlA. J. Bacteriol. 187: 7918-7930 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Gauthier, A., Robertson, M. L., Lowden, M., Ibarra, J. A., Puente, J. L., Finlay, B. B. (2005). Transcriptional Inhibitor of Virulence Factors in Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli. Antimicrob. Agents Chemother. 49: 4101-4109 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Giangrossi, M., Zattoni, S., Tramonti, A., De Biase, D., Falconi, M. (2005). Antagonistic Role of H-NS and GadX in the Regulation of the Glutamate Decarboxylase-dependent Acid Resistance System in Escherichia coli. J. Biol. Chem. 280: 21498-21505 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Yang, J., Tauschek, M., Strugnell, R., Robins-Browne, R. M. (2005). The H-NS protein represses transcription of the eltAB operon, which encodes heat-labile enterotoxin in enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli, by binding to regions downstream of the promoter. Microbiology 151: 1199-1208 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Leverton, L. Q., Kaper, J. B. (2005). Temporal Expression of Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli Virulence Genes in an In Vitro Model of Infection. Infect. Immun. 73: 1034-1043 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Berdichevsky, T., Friedberg, D., Nadler, C., Rokney, A., Oppenheim, A., Rosenshine, I. (2005). Ler Is a Negative Autoregulator of the LEE1 Operon in Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli. J. Bacteriol. 187: 349-357 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Zhang, L., Chaudhuri, R. R., Constantinidou, C., Hobman, J. L., Patel, M. D., Jones, A. C., Sarti, D., Roe, A. J., Vlisidou, I., Shaw, R. K., Falciani, F., Stevens, M. P., Gally, D. L., Knutton, S., Frankel, G., Penn, C. W., Pallen, M. J. (2004). Regulators Encoded in the Escherichia coli Type III Secretion System 2 Gene Cluster Influence Expression of Genes within the Locus for Enterocyte Effacement in Enterohemorrhagic E. coli O157:H7. Infect. Immun. 72: 7282-7293 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Iyoda, S., Watanabe, H. (2004). Positive effects of multiple pch genes on expression of the locus of enterocyte effacement genes and adherence of enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157 : H7 to HEp-2 cells. Microbiology 150: 2357-2571 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Sircili, M. P., Walters, M., Trabulsi, L. R., Sperandio, V. (2004). Modulation of Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli Virulence by Quorum Sensing. Infect. Immun. 72: 2329-2337 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


Copyright © 2009 by the American Society for Microbiology.   For an alternate route to Journals.ASM.org, visit: http://intl-journals.asm.org | More Info»