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The bacterial cell-cycle regulator GcrA is a σ70 co-factor that drives gene expression from a subset of methylated promoters.

ABSTRACT: Cell cycle progression in most organisms requires tightly regulated programs of gene expression. The transcription factors involved typically stimulate gene expression by binding specific DNA sequences in promoters and recruiting RNA polymerase. Here, we find that the essential cell cycle regulator GcrA in Caulobacter crescentus activates the transcription of target genes in a fundamentally different manner. GcrA forms a stable complex with RNA polymerase and localizes to almost all active σ70-dependent promoters in vivo, but activates transcription primarily at promoters harboring certain DNA methylation sites. Whereas most transcription factors that contact σ70 interact with domain 4, GcrA interfaces with domain 2, the region that binds the -10 element during strand separation. Using kinetic analyses and a reconstituted in vitro transcription assay, we demonstrate that GcrA can stabilize RNA polymerase binding and directly stimulate open complex formation to activate transcription. Guided by these studies, we identify a regulon of ~200 genes, providing new insight into the essential functions of GcrA. Collectively, our work reveals a new mechanism for transcriptional regulation, and we discuss the potential benefits of activating transcription by promoting RNA polymerase isomerization rather than exclusively recruitment.

ORGANISM(S): Caulobacter vibrioides

PROVIDER: GSE73925 | GEO | 2015/11/10

SECONDARY ACCESSION(S): PRJNA298529

REPOSITORIES: GEO

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Project description:Background: In prokaryotes, sigma factors are essential for the targeting of the transcription machinery to promoters. Various sigma factors have been described that recognize and bind to specific DNA sequence motifs in promoter sequences. The canonical sigma factor σ70 is commonly involved in transcription of the cell's general housekeeping genes, which is mediated by the conserved σ70 promoter sequence motifs. This study detects and predicts the general σ70-promoter sequences in Lactobacillus plantarum WCFS1 using genome-wide analysis. The accuracy of the transcriptionally-active part of this promoter prediction was subsequently evaluated by correlating locations of predicted promoters with experimentally detected transcription starts sites (TSSs) using high-resolution tiling array transcriptome datasets. Results: To identify σ70-related promoter sequences, we performed a genome-wide sequence motif scan of the L. plantarum WCFS1 genome focusing on the regions upstream of protein-encoding genes. We obtained several highly conserved motifs including those resembling the conserved σ70-promoter consensus. Position weight matrices-based models of the recovered σ70-promoter sequence motif were employed to identify 4746 motifs with significant similarity (p-value < 10-4) to the model-motif in the L. plantarum genome. Genome-wide transcription start site information deduced from whole genome tiling-array transcriptome datasets revealed 936 TSSs that were employed to validate the transcriptionally active fraction of these predicted promoters. In total, 578 predicted promoters were found in proximity (≤ 100 nucleotides) of the identified TSSs, showing a highly significant co-occurrence of predicted promoter and measured TSS (p-value < 10-23). An additional 224 predicted promoters was validated when the significant similarity to the model-motif was applied less strictly (10-4 ≤ p-value < 10-3). Conclusions: High-resolution tiling arrays provide a suitable source for TSS detection at a genome-wide level, and allow experimental verification of in silico-predicted promoter sequence motifs.

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The bacterial cell-cycle regulator GcrA is a σ70 co-factor that drives gene expression from a subset of methylated promoters.

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