Effector-mediated interaction of CbbR<inf>I</inf> and CbbR<inf>II</inf> regulators with target sequences in Rhodobacter capsulatus

Abstract

In Rhodobacter capsulatus, genes encoding enzymes of the Calvin-Benson-Bassham reductive pentose phosphate pathway are located in the cbbI and cbbII operons. Each operon contains a divergently transcribed LysR-type transcriptional activator (CbbRI and CbbR II) that regulates the expression of its cognate cbb promoter in response to an as yet unidentified effector molecule(s). Both CbbRI and CbbRII were purified, and the ability of a variety of potential effector molecules to induce changes in their DNA binding properties at their target promoters was assessed. The responses of CbbRI and CbbR II to potential effectors were not identical. In gel mobility shift assays, the affinity of both CbbRI and CbbRII for their target promoters was enhanced in the presence of ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate (RuBP), phosphoenolpyruvate, 3-phosphoglycerate, 2-phosphoglycolate. ATP, 2-phosphoglycerate, and KH2PO4 were found to enhance only CbbRI binding, while fructose-1,6-bisphosphate enhanced the binding of only CbbRII. The DNase I footprint of CbbRI was reduced in the presence of RuBP, while reductions in the CbbRII DNase I footprint were induced by fructose-l,6-bisphosphate, 3-phosphoglycerate, and KH2PO4. The current in vitro results plus recent in vivo studies suggest that CbbR-mediated regulation of cbb transcription is controlled by multiple metabolic signals in R. capsulatus. This control reflects not only intracellular levels of Calvin-Benson-Bassham cycle metabolic intermediates but also the fixed (organic) carbon status and energy charge of the cell.