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Potassium glutamate as a transcriptional inhibitor during bacterial osmoregulation
Author(s) -
Gralla Jay D,
Vargas David R
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
the embo journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 7.484
H-Index - 392
eISSN - 1460-2075
pISSN - 0261-4189
DOI - 10.1038/sj.emboj.7601041
Subject(s) - biology , osmoregulation , potassium , glutamate receptor , biochemistry , ecology , receptor , chemistry , organic chemistry , salinity
Potassium glutamate accumulates upon hyper‐osmotic shock and serves as a temporary osmoprotectant. This salt leads to transcriptional activation of sets of genes that allow the cell to achieve long‐term adaptation to high osmolarity. The current experiments show that potassium glutamate also acts as an inhibitor of bulk cellular transcription. It can do so independent of the involvement of macromolecular repressors or activators by virtue of its ability to directly inhibit RNA polymerase binding to ribosomal promoters. Thus, potassium glutamate mediates a global transcription switch by acting differentially on RNA polymerase at sets of genomic promoters that differ in their built‐in direct response to this salt.