The LexA regulated genes of the Clostridium difficile

BMC Microbiology

Matej Butala³  Darja Žgur-Bertok³  Nejc Paulič³  Bruno Dupuy⁴  Gregor Anderluh⁵  Vesna Hodnik³  Maja Rupnik¹  Beata M Walter² 

[1]Centre of Excellence for Integrated Approaches in Chemistry and Biology of Proteins, Ljubljana, Slovenia

[2]Institute of Public Health Maribor, Centre for Microbiology, Maribor, Slovenia

[3]Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Department of Biology, Ljubljana, Slovenia

[4]Laboratoire Pathogenèse des Bactéries Anaérobies, Département de Microbiologie, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France

[5]National Institute of Chemistry, Ljubljana, Slovenia

关键词: LexA repressor;    Surface plasmon resonance;    SOS system;    Toxin regulation;    Antibiotic resistance;    Clostridium difficile;   

Others  :  1141445
DOI  :  10.1186/1471-2180-14-88

 received in 2013-12-23, accepted in 2014-03-27,  发布年份 2014

【 摘 要 】

Background

The SOS response including two main proteins LexA and RecA, maintains the integrity of bacterial genomes after DNA damage due to metabolic or environmental assaults. Additionally, derepression of LexA-regulated genes can result in mutations, genetic exchange and expression of virulence factors. Here we describe the first comprehensive description of the in silico LexA regulon in Clostridium difficile, an important human pathogen.

Results

We grouped thirty C. difficile strains from different ribotypes and toxinotypes into three clusters according to lexA gene/protein variability. We applied in silico analysis coupled to surface plasmon resonance spectroscopy (SPR) and determined 16 LexA binding sites in C. difficile. Our data indicate that strains within the cluster, as defined by LexA variability, harbour several specific LexA regulon genes. In addition to core SOS genes: lexA, recA, ruvCA and uvrBA, we identified a LexA binding site on the pathogenicity locus (PaLoc) and in the putative promoter region of several genes involved in housekeeping, sporulation and antibiotic resistance.

Conclusions

Results presented here suggest that in C. difficile LexA is not merely a regulator of the DNA damage response genes but also controls the expression of dozen genes involved in various other biological functions. Our in vitro results indicate that in C. difficile inactivation of LexA repressor depends on repressor`s dissociation from the operators. We report that the repressor`s dissociation rates from operators differentiate, thus the determined LexA-DNA dissociation constants imply on the timing of SOS gene expression in C. difficile.

【 授权许可】

   
2014 Walter et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

【 图 表 】

Figure 1.

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Figure 1.

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