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Bacillus subtilis tetA (L) gene expression: evidence for regulation by translational reinitiation
Author(s) -
Stasinopoulos Stan J.,
Farr Glen A.,
Bechhofer David H.
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
molecular microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.857
H-Index - 247
eISSN - 1365-2958
pISSN - 0950-382X
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-2958.1998.01119.x
Subject(s) - biology , bacillus subtilis , gene , mutant , coding region , open reading frame , gene expression , ribosome , peptide sequence , transmembrane protein , regulation of gene expression , genetics , messenger rna , point mutation , microbiology and biotechnology , rna , bacteria , receptor
The tetA (L) gene of Bacillus subtilis encodes a transmembrane protein that can function as a Tc‐metal/H + antiporter, conferring low‐level resistance to tetracycline. The TetA(L) coding sequence is preceded by a leader region that contains a 20‐amino‐acid open reading frame and an appropriately spaced ribosome binding site. Expression of the gene is induced by addition of tetracycline, which is thought to act by binding to ribosomes that translate the tetA (L) leader peptide coding sequence. Here we demonstrate that induction of tetA (L) expression includes minor transcriptional and major translational components. Deletion and point mutations of the tetA (L) leader region were constructed to probe the mechanism of translational induction. To account for the observed mutant phenotypes, we propose that tetA (L) expression is regulated by a translational reinitiation mechanism.