The iron-responsive Fur regulon in Yersinia pestis

J Bacteriol. 2008 Apr;190(8):3063-75. doi: 10.1128/JB.01910-07. Epub 2008 Feb 15.

Abstract

The ferric uptake regulator (Fur) is a predominant bacterial regulator controlling the iron assimilation functions in response to iron availability. Our previous microarray analysis on Yersinia pestis defined the iron-Fur modulon. In the present work, we reannotated the iron assimilation genes in Y. pestis, and the resulting genes in complementation with those disclosed by microarray constituted a total of 34 genome loci (putative operons) that represent the potential iron-responsive targets of Fur. The subsequent real-time reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR) in conjunction with the primer extension analysis showed that 32 of them were regulated by Fur in response to iron starvation. A previously predicted Fur box sequence was then used to search against the promoter regions of the 34 operons; the homologue of the above box could be predicted in each promoter tested. The subsequent electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA) demonstrated that a purified His(6) tag-fused Fur protein was able to bind in vitro to each of these promoter regions. Therefore, Fur is a global regulator, both an activator and a repressor, and directly controls not only almost all of the iron assimilation functions but also a variety of genes involved in various non-iron functions for governing a complex regulatory cascade in Y. pestis. In addition, real-time RT-PCR, primer extension, EMSA, and DNase I footprinting assay were used to elucidate the Fur regulation of the ybt locus encoding a virulence-required iron uptake system. By combining the published data on the YbtA regulation of ybt, we constructed a concise Fur/YbtA regulatory network with a map of the Fur-promoter DNA interactions within the ybt locus. The data presented here give us an overview of the iron-responsive Fur regulon in Y. pestis.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins
  • Bacterial Proteins / biosynthesis
  • Bacterial Proteins / metabolism*
  • Base Sequence
  • Binding Sites
  • DNA Footprinting
  • DNA, Bacterial / metabolism
  • Electrophoretic Mobility Shift Assay
  • Gene Expression Profiling
  • Genes, Bacterial*
  • Iron / metabolism*
  • Iron-Binding Proteins
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Periplasmic Binding Proteins
  • Promoter Regions, Genetic
  • Protein Binding
  • RNA, Bacterial / biosynthesis
  • RNA, Messenger / biosynthesis
  • Regulon*
  • Repressor Proteins / metabolism*
  • Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
  • Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid
  • Trans-Activators / metabolism
  • Transcription Factors / metabolism
  • Transcription Initiation Site
  • Yersinia pestis / genetics*
  • Yersinia pestis / metabolism*

Substances

  • Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins
  • Bacterial Proteins
  • DNA, Bacterial
  • Iron-Binding Proteins
  • Periplasmic Binding Proteins
  • RNA, Bacterial
  • RNA, Messenger
  • Repressor Proteins
  • Trans-Activators
  • Transcription Factors
  • YbtA protein, Yersinia pestis
  • ferric uptake regulating proteins, bacterial
  • Iron