Skip to main content
PMC home page
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America logoLink to Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
. 1986 Aug;83(16):5909–5913. doi: 10.1073/pnas.83.16.5909

Covalent modification of the glnG product, NRI, by the glnL product, NRII, regulates the transcription of the glnALG operon in Escherichia coli.

A J Ninfa, B Magasanik
PMCID: PMC386406  PMID: 2874557

Abstract

Transcription from nitrogen-regulated promoters, such as glnAp2, requires the glnG gene product, NRI, as well as the rpoN(glnF) gene product, sigma60, and is regulated by the glnL gene product, NRII. We find that in a reaction mixture containing NRI, NRII, and ATP, NRII catalyzes the transfer of the gamma phosphate of ATP to NRI. This covalent modification of NRI occurs concurrently with the acquisition of the ability by the reaction mixture to activate transcription from glnAp2. In the presence of PII, the product of glnB, NRII catalyzes the removal of the phosphate from NRI-phosphate. This reaction occurs concurrently with the loss by the reaction mixture of the ability to activate transcription from glnAp2. On the basis of this evidence, we propose that NRI-phosphate activates transcription from nitrogen-regulated promoters and that the role of NRII is control of the formation and breakdown of NRI-phosphate in response to cellular signals of nitrogen availability.

Full text

PDF
5909

Images in this article

5910Image
on p.5910
5910Image
on p.5910
5910Image
on p.5910
5910Image
on p.5910
5911Image
on p.5911
5911Image
on p.5911
5911Image
on p.5911
5911Image
on p.5911
5911Image
on p.5911
5912Image
on p.5912
5912Image
on p.5912

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Adler S. P., Purich D., Stadtman E. R. Cascade control of Escherichia coli glutamine synthetase. Properties of the PII regulatory protein and the uridylyltransferase-uridylyl-removing enzyme. J Biol Chem. 1975 Aug 25;250(16):6264–6272. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Bloom F. R., Levin M. S., Foor F., Tyler B. Regulation of glutamine synthetase formation in Escherichia coli: characterization of mutants lacking the uridylyltransferase. J Bacteriol. 1978 May;134(2):569–577. doi: 10.1128/jb.134.2.569-577.1978. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Bueno R., Pahel G., Magasanik B. Role of glnB and glnD gene products in regulation of the glnALG operon of Escherichia coli. J Bacteriol. 1985 Nov;164(2):816–822. doi: 10.1128/jb.164.2.816-822.1985. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Chen Y. M., Backman K., Magasanik B. Characterization of a gene, glnL, the product of which is involved in the regulation of nitrogen utilization in Escherichia coli. J Bacteriol. 1982 Apr;150(1):214–220. doi: 10.1128/jb.150.1.214-220.1982. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Edelman G. M. Cell adhesion and the molecular processes of morphogenesis. Annu Rev Biochem. 1985;54:135–169. doi: 10.1146/annurev.bi.54.070185.001031. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Garcia E., Bancroft S., Rhee S. G., Kustu S. The product of a newly identified gene, gInF, is required for synthesis of glutamine synthetase in Salmonella. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1977 Apr;74(4):1662–1666. doi: 10.1073/pnas.74.4.1662. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Hirschman J., Wong P. K., Sei K., Keener J., Kustu S. Products of nitrogen regulatory genes ntrA and ntrC of enteric bacteria activate glnA transcription in vitro: evidence that the ntrA product is a sigma factor. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1985 Nov;82(22):7525–7529. doi: 10.1073/pnas.82.22.7525. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Hunt T. P., Magasanik B. Transcription of glnA by purified Escherichia coli components: core RNA polymerase and the products of glnF, glnG, and glnL. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1985 Dec;82(24):8453–8457. doi: 10.1073/pnas.82.24.8453. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Pahel G., Tyler B. A new glnA-linked regulatory gene for glutamine synthetase in Escherichia coli. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1979 Sep;76(9):4544–4548. doi: 10.1073/pnas.76.9.4544. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Pahel G., Zelenetz A. D., Tyler B. M. gltB gene and regulation of nitrogen metabolism by glutamine synthetase in Escherichia coli. J Bacteriol. 1978 Jan;133(1):139–148. doi: 10.1128/jb.133.1.139-148.1978. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Raibaud O., Schwartz M. Positive control of transcription initiation in bacteria. Annu Rev Genet. 1984;18:173–206. doi: 10.1146/annurev.ge.18.120184.001133. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Reitzer L. J., Magasanik B. Expression of glnA in Escherichia coli is regulated at tandem promoters. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1985 Apr;82(7):1979–1983. doi: 10.1073/pnas.82.7.1979. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Reitzer L. J., Magasanik B. Isolation of the nitrogen assimilation regulator NR(I), the product of the glnG gene of Escherichia coli. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1983 Sep;80(18):5554–5558. doi: 10.1073/pnas.80.18.5554. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Ueno-Nishio S., Backman K. C., Magasanik B. Regulation at the glnL-operator-promoter of the complex glnALG operon of Escherichia coli. J Bacteriol. 1983 Mar;153(3):1247–1251. doi: 10.1128/jb.153.3.1247-1251.1983. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Ueno-Nishio S., Mango S., Reitzer L. J., Magasanik B. Identification and regulation of the glnL operator-promoter of the complex glnALG operon of Escherichia coli. J Bacteriol. 1984 Oct;160(1):379–384. doi: 10.1128/jb.160.1.379-384.1984. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America are provided here courtesy of National Academy of Sciences

RESOURCES