Abstract
While much is known about the transcriptional regulation of the 12 gene alginate biosynthesis operon from the algD promoter in Pseudomonas aeruginosa, there has been little investigation into the possibility of other transcription starts within this operon, especially those genes dealing with the epimerization and acetylation of the alginate polymer. In this study, we utilized quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, a β-galactosidase reporter assay and sequence scanning to identify two putative promoters within the alginate biosynthesis operon upstream of the alginate epimerase gene algG and the alginate acetylation gene algI. These data support the possibility of differential regulation within the operon to alter polymer structure under varying environmental conditions.
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Acknowledgments
We thank Drs. Sang-Jin Suh and Lynn F. Wood for their generous donation of plasmids pSS269 and pLW149a, respectively. We also thank Drs. Kimberly K. Jefferson and Jason A. Carlyon for use of their equipment. This study was supported by Veterans Administration Medical Research Grant I01BX000477 (D.E.O.) and Public Health Service Grant AI-19146 from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (D.E.O.).
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Paletta, J.L., Ohman, D.E. Evidence for Two Promoters Internal to the Alginate Biosynthesis Operon in Pseudomonas aeruginosa . Curr Microbiol 65, 770–775 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00284-012-0228-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00284-012-0228-y