Genetic Analysis of a Temporally Transcribed Chemotaxis Gene Cluster Caulobacter crescentus

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Genetic Analysis of a Temporally Transcribed Chemotaxis Gene Cluster Caulobacter crescentus

MRK. Alley, S. L. Gomes, W. Alexander and L. Shapiro
Department of Developmental Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California 94305

Caulobacter crescentus performs chemotaxis by short intermittent reversals of rotation of its single polar flagellum. Tn5 insertions causing a general chemotaxis phenotype, an inability to reverse swimming direction and to form large swarm colonies, have been mapped to an 8-kb region of the C. crescentus genome. These Tn5 mutations had different effects on the methyl-accepting chemotaxis proteins (MCP), and the activities of methyltransferase and methylesterase. The Tn5 insertion mutant SC1130 had no cross-reacting MCP and had reduced levels of activity of the methyltransferase and methylesterase. Other mutants bearing Tn5 insertions retained cross-reacting MCP activity and were altered only in their methyltransferase and methylesterase activities. Using a cosmid library we isolated a clone that complemented SC1130. Complementation studies of the Tn5 mutants using derivatives of the cosmid clone showed that all the Tn5 insertions lie within a single operon that appears to encode many chemotaxis genes. The first gene in this operon was shown to encode an MCP by immuno-blot analysis of strains carrying {beta}-galactosidase protein fusions to portions of the operon. The promoter of this operon was located by chromosomal integration of subclones of this region and by identifying DNA fragments that were capable of expressing lacZ transcriptional fusions. The transcription of the che operon occurred at a defined time in the cell cycle, prior to cell division.

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				R. S. Janakiraman and Y. V. Brun Cell Cycle Control of a Holdfast Attachment Gene in Caulobacter crescentus J. Bacteriol., February 15, 1999; 181(4): 1118 - 1125. [Abstract] [Full Text]

				P. Bandyopadhyay and H. M. Steinman Legionella pneumophila Catalase-Peroxidases: Cloning of the katB Gene and Studies of KatB Function J. Bacteriol., October 15, 1998; 180(20): 5369 - 5374. [Abstract] [Full Text]

				P. Awram and J. Smit J. Bacteriol., June 15, 1998; 180(12): 3062 - 3069. [Abstract] [Full Text]

				G T Marczynski, K Lentine, and L Shapiro A developmentally regulated chromosomal origin of replication uses essential transcription elements. Genes & Dev., June 15, 1995; 9(12): 1543 - 1557. [Abstract] [PDF]

				M. Alley, Maddock JR, and L Shapiro Requirement of the carboxyl terminus of a bacterial chemoreceptor for its targeted proteolysis Science, March 19, 1993; 259(5102): 1754 - 1757. [Abstract] [PDF]

				Y V Brun and L Shapiro A temporally controlled sigma-factor is required for polar morphogenesis and normal cell division in Caulobacter. Genes & Dev., December 1, 1992; 6(12a): 2395 - 2408. [Abstract] [PDF]

				M R Alley, J R Maddock, and L Shapiro Polar localization of a bacterial chemoreceptor. Genes & Dev., May 1, 1992; 6(5): 825 - 836. [Abstract] [PDF]