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Full-Text Articles in Medical Genetics

H-Ns Binding And Repression Of The Ctx Promoter In Vibrio Cholerae, Emily A. Stonehouse, Robin R. Hulbert, Melinda B. Nye, Karen Skorupski, Ronald K. Taylor Dec 2010

H-Ns Binding And Repression Of The Ctx Promoter In Vibrio Cholerae, Emily A. Stonehouse, Robin R. Hulbert, Melinda B. Nye, Karen Skorupski, Ronald K. Taylor

Dartmouth Scholarship

Expression of the ctx and tcp genes, which encode cholera toxin and the toxin coregulated pilus, the Vibrio cholerae O1 virulence determinants having the largest contribution to cholera disease, is repressed by the nucleoid-associated protein H-NS and activated by the AraC-like transcriptional regulator ToxT. To elucidate the molecular mechanism by which H-NS controls transcription of the ctxAB operon, H-NS repression and binding were characterized by using a promoter truncation series, gel mobility shift assays, and DNase I footprinting. Promoter regions found to be important for H-NS repression correlated with in vitro binding. Four main H-NS binding regions are present at …


Cpg Hypomethylation In A Large Domain Encompassing The Embryonic Β-Like Globin Genes In Primitive Erythrocytes, Mei Hsu, Rodwell R. Mabaera, Christopher H. Lowrey, David I. K. Martin, Steven Fiering Apr 2007

Cpg Hypomethylation In A Large Domain Encompassing The Embryonic Β-Like Globin Genes In Primitive Erythrocytes, Mei Hsu, Rodwell R. Mabaera, Christopher H. Lowrey, David I. K. Martin, Steven Fiering

Dartmouth Scholarship

There is little evidence addressing the role of CpG methylation in transcriptional control of genes that do not contain CpG islands. This is reflected in the ongoing debate about whether CpG methylation merely suppresses retroelements or if it also plays a role in developmental and tissue-specific gene regulation. The genes of the β-globin locus are an important model of mammalian developmental gene regulation and do not contain CpG islands. We have analyzed the methylation status of regions in the murine β-like globin locus in uncultured primitive and definitive erythroblasts and other cultured primary and transformed cell types. A large (∼20-kb) …


Erythroid Cell-Specific Α-Globin Gene Regulation By The Cp2 Transcription Factor Family, Ho C. Kang, Jui Hyung Chae, Yeon H. Lee, Mi-Ae Park, June Ho Shin, Sung-Hyun Kim, Sang-Kyu Ye, Yoon Shin Cho, Steven Fiering, Chul Geun Kim Jul 2005

Erythroid Cell-Specific Α-Globin Gene Regulation By The Cp2 Transcription Factor Family, Ho C. Kang, Jui Hyung Chae, Yeon H. Lee, Mi-Ae Park, June Ho Shin, Sung-Hyun Kim, Sang-Kyu Ye, Yoon Shin Cho, Steven Fiering, Chul Geun Kim

Dartmouth Scholarship

We previously demonstrated that ubiquitously expressed CP2c exerts potent erythroid-specific transactivation of alpha-globin through an unknown mechanism. This mechanism is reported here to involve specific CP2 splice variants and protein inhibitor of activated STAT1 (PIAS1). We identify a novel murine splice isoform of CP2, CP2b, which is identical to CP2a except that it has an additional 36 amino acids encoded by an extra exon. CP2b has an erythroid cell-specific transcriptional activation domain, which requires the extra exon and can form heteromeric complexes with other CP2 isoforms, but lacks the DNA binding activity found in CP2a and CP2c. Transcriptional activation of …


The Virulence Activator Apha Links Quorum Sensing To Pathogenesis And Physiology In Vibrio Cholerae By Repressing The Expression Of A Penicillin Amidase Gene On The Small Chromosome, Gabriela Kovacikova, Wei Lin, Karen Skorupski Aug 2003

The Virulence Activator Apha Links Quorum Sensing To Pathogenesis And Physiology In Vibrio Cholerae By Repressing The Expression Of A Penicillin Amidase Gene On The Small Chromosome, Gabriela Kovacikova, Wei Lin, Karen Skorupski

Dartmouth Scholarship

Activation of the tcpPH promoter on the Vibrio pathogenicity island by AphA and AphB initiates the Vibrio cholerae virulence cascade and is regulated by quorum sensing through the repressive action of HapR on aphA expression. To further understand how the chromosomally encoded AphA protein activates tcpPH expression, site-directed mutagenesis was used to identify the base pairs critical for AphA binding and transcriptional activation. This analysis revealed a region of partial dyad symmetry, TATGCA-N6-TNCNNA, that is important for both of these activities. Searching the V. cholerae genome for this binding site permitted the identification of a second one upstream of a …


Rhythmic Binding Of A White Collar-Containing Complex To The Frequency Promoter Is Inhibited By Frequency, Allan C. Froehlich, Jennifer J. Loros, Jay C. Dunlap May 2003

Rhythmic Binding Of A White Collar-Containing Complex To The Frequency Promoter Is Inhibited By Frequency, Allan C. Froehlich, Jennifer J. Loros, Jay C. Dunlap

Dartmouth Scholarship

The biological clock of Neurospora crassa includes interconnected transcriptional and translational feedback loops that cause both the transcript and protein encoded by the frequency gene (frq) to undergo the robust daily oscillations in abundance, which are essential for clock function. To understand better the mechanism generating rhythmic frq transcript, reporter constructs were used to show that the oscillation in frq message is transcriptionally regulated, and a single cis-acting element in the frq promoter, the Clock Box (C box), is both necessary and sufficient for this rhythmic transcription. Nuclear protein extracts used in binding assays revealed that a White Collar (WC)-1- …


Promoters Of The Murine Embryonic Β-Like Globin Genes Ey And Βh1 Do Not Compete For Interaction With The Β-Globin Locus Control Region, Xiao Hu, Michael Bulger, Julia N. Roach, Susan K. Eszterhas, Emmanuel Olivier, Eric Bouhassira, Mark Groudine, Steven Fiering Feb 2003

Promoters Of The Murine Embryonic Β-Like Globin Genes Ey And Βh1 Do Not Compete For Interaction With The Β-Globin Locus Control Region, Xiao Hu, Michael Bulger, Julia N. Roach, Susan K. Eszterhas, Emmanuel Olivier, Eric Bouhassira, Mark Groudine, Steven Fiering

Dartmouth Scholarship

Mammalian β-globin loci contain multiple β-like genes that are expressed at different times during development. The murine β-globin locus contains two genes expressed during the embryo stage, Ey and βh1, and two genes expressed at both the fetal and postnatal stages, β-major and β-minor. Studies of transgenic human β-like globin loci in mice have suggested that expression of one gene at the locus will suppress expression of other genes at the locus. To test this hypothesis we produced mouse lines with deletions of either the Ey or βh1 promoter in the endogenous murine β-globin locus. Promoter deletion eliminated expression of …


Saru, A Sara Homolog, Is Repressed By Sart And Regulates Virulence Genes In Staphylococcus Aureus, Adhar C. Manna, Ambrose L. Cheung Jan 2003

Saru, A Sara Homolog, Is Repressed By Sart And Regulates Virulence Genes In Staphylococcus Aureus, Adhar C. Manna, Ambrose L. Cheung

Dartmouth Scholarship

In searching the Staphylococcus aureus genome, we previously identified sarT, a homolog of sarA, which encodes a repressor for alpha-hemolysin synthesis. Adjacent but transcribed divergently to sarT is sarU, which encodes a 247-residue polypeptide, almost twice the length of SarA. Sequence alignment disclosed that SarU, like SarS, which is another SarA homolog, could be envisioned as a molecule with two halves, with each half being homologous to SarA. SarU, as a member of the SarA family proteins, disclosed conservation of basic residues within the helix-turn-helix motif and within the beta hairpin loop, two putative DNA binding domains within this protein …


Transcriptional Interference By Independently Regulated Genes Occurs In Any Relative Arrangement Of The Genes And Is Influenced By Chromosomal Integration Position, Susan K. Eszterhas, Eric E. Bouhassira, David I. K. Martin, Steven Fiering Jan 2002

Transcriptional Interference By Independently Regulated Genes Occurs In Any Relative Arrangement Of The Genes And Is Influenced By Chromosomal Integration Position, Susan K. Eszterhas, Eric E. Bouhassira, David I. K. Martin, Steven Fiering

Dartmouth Scholarship

Transcriptional interference is the influence, generally suppressive, of one active transcriptional unit on another unit linked in cis. Its wide occurrence in experimental systems suggests that it may also influence transcription in many loci, but little is known about its precise nature or underlying mechanisms. Here we report a study of the interaction of two nearly identical transcription units juxtaposed in various arrangements. Each reporter gene in the constructs has its own promoter and enhancer and a strong polyadenylation signal. We used recombinase-mediated cassette exchange (RMCE) to insert the constructs into previously tagged genomic sites in cultured cells. This …


Evaluation Of A Tetracycline-Inducible Promoter In Staphylococcus Aureus In Vitro And In Vivo And Its Application In Demonstrating The Role Of Sigb In Microcolony Formation, B. T. Bateman, N. P. Donegan, T. M. Jarry, M. Palma Dec 2001

Evaluation Of A Tetracycline-Inducible Promoter In Staphylococcus Aureus In Vitro And In Vivo And Its Application In Demonstrating The Role Of Sigb In Microcolony Formation, B. T. Bateman, N. P. Donegan, T. M. Jarry, M. Palma

Dartmouth Scholarship

An inducible promoter system provides a powerful tool for studying the genetic basis for virulence. A variety of inducible systems have been used in other organisms, including pXyl-xylR-inducible promoter, the pSpac-lacI system, and the arabinose-inducible PBAD promoter, but each of these systems has limitations in its application to Staphylococcus aureus. In this study, we demonstrated the efficacy of a tetracycline-inducible promoter system in inducing gene expression in S. aureus in vitro and inside epithelial cells as well as in an animal model of infection. Using the xyl/tetO promoter::gfpuvr fusion carried on a shuttle …


Sars, A Sara Homolog Repressible By Agr, Is An Activator Of Protein A Synthesis In Staphylococcus Aureus, Ambrose L. Cheung, Katherine Schmidt, Brian Bateman, Adhar C. Manna Apr 2001

Sars, A Sara Homolog Repressible By Agr, Is An Activator Of Protein A Synthesis In Staphylococcus Aureus, Ambrose L. Cheung, Katherine Schmidt, Brian Bateman, Adhar C. Manna

Dartmouth Scholarship

The expression of protein A (spa) is repressed by global regulatory loci sarA and agr. Although SarA may directly bind to the spa promoter to downregulate spa expression, the mechanism by which agr represses spa expression is not clearly understood. In searching for SarA homologs in the partially released genome, we found a SarA homolog, encoding a 250-amino-acid protein designated SarS, upstream of the spa gene. The expression of sarS was almost undetectable in parental strain RN6390 but was highly expressed in agr and sarA mutants, strains normally expressing high level of protein A. Interestingly, protein A …


Characterization Of Sarr, A Modulator Of Sar Expression In Staphylococcus Aureus, Adhar Manna, Ambrose L. Cheung Feb 2001

Characterization Of Sarr, A Modulator Of Sar Expression In Staphylococcus Aureus, Adhar Manna, Ambrose L. Cheung

Dartmouth Scholarship

The expression of virulence determinants in Staphylococcus aureus is controlled by global regulatory loci (e.g., sar and agr). The sar locus is composed of three overlapping transcripts (sar P1, P3, and P2 transcripts from P1, P3, and P2 promoters, respectively), all encoding the 372-bp sarA gene. The level of SarA, the major regulatory protein, is partially controlled by the differential activation of sar promoters. We previously partially purified a ∼12 kDa protein with a DNA-specific column