Transcription and autoregulation of the Rv3134c-devR-devS operon of Mycobacterium tuberculosis

DevR is a transcriptional regulator that mediates the genetic response of Mycobacterium tuberculosis to oxygen limitation and nitric oxide exposure. devR is co-transcribed along with devS, which encodes its cognate sensor kinase, and an upstream gene, Rv3134c. The transcriptional activity of this operon was characterized by primer extension, transcriptional fusion and electrophoretic mobility shift assays (EMSAs) under aerobic conditions. Transcription start points (Tsps) were detected upstream of both Rv3134c and devR, and the major transcript was derived from upstream of Rv3134c. Sequences with similarity to sigma factor consensus elements and to DevR-binding motifs were detected in the vicinity of the Tsps by in silico analysis. EMSAs with promoter regions and DevR protein showed that DevR binds to its own promoters in a sequence-specific manner with differing affinities. Consistent with the primer extension and EMSA data, Rv3134c promoters, and not devR promoters, were determined to be the principal promoters of this operon using reporter assays performed in Mycobacterium smegmatis and Escherichia coli. Furthermore, DevR modulated the activity of both devR and Rv3134c promoters. From these findings it is inferred that the Rv3134c-devR-devS operon is transcribed from multiple promoters and is autoregulated.