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Clustering and co‐ordinated activation of carotenoid genes in Myxococcus xanthus by blue light
Author(s) -
RuizVázquez Rosa,
Fontes Marta,
Murillo Francisco J.
Publication year - 1993
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 - 10.1111/j.1365-2958.1993.tb00900.x
Subject(s) - myxococcus xanthus , biology , gene , gene cluster , genetics , mutant , locus (genetics) , carotenoid , biochemistry
Summary Blue light activates carotenoid production in the non‐photosynthetic, Gram‐negative bacterium Myxococcus xanthus. Light is known to stimulate the expression of two unlinked genes for carotenoid synthesis, carB and carC , through a mechanism in which the regulatory genes carA, carQ and carR take part. Genes carQ and carR are linked together at a separate locus, whereas carA is linked to carB. We have introduced Tn5 at various sites between carA and carB. Chemical analyses of the mutant strains demonstrate the presence in this region of a cluster of genes for carotenoid synthesis. Gene expression analysis strongly argues for most (or all) of the genes in the cluster being transcribed from a single, light‐inducible promoter under the control of genes carA, carQ and carR.