Enterococcus faecalis G1-0247 (vancomycin MIC, 16 microg/ml) was found to harbor a vanG operon 99% identical to the vanG operon in E. faecalis BM4518. E. faecalis N03-0233 (vancomycin MIC, 16 microg/ml) was found to harbor a novel vanG operon, vanG2, on an element in a different chromosomal location than the vanG-harboring elements in G1-0247 and BM4518.

Biofilm formation in Staphylococcus epidermidis is dependent upon the ica operon-encoded polysaccharide intercellular adhesin, which is subject to phase-variable and environmental regulation. The icaR gene, located adjacent to the ica operon, appears to be a member of the tetR family of transcriptional regulators. In the reference strain RP62A, reversible inactivation of the ica operon by IS256...

We measured the differential transcription rates of individual ribosomal operons after a nutritional shift-up. All operons showed a transient increase in transcription. However, the response of the S10 ribosomal protein operon was much stronger than that of any other operon. We propose that only the S10 operon is autogenously regulated by a transcription attenuation mechanism.

Threonylcarbamoyladenosine is a universally conserved essential modification of tRNA that ensures translational fidelity in cellular milieu. TsaD, TsaB and TsaE are identified as tRNA-A37-threonylcarbamoyl (t6A)-transferase enzymes that have been reconstituted in vitro, in few bacteria recently. However, transcriptional organization and regulation of these genes are not known in any of these or...

Operon structures play an important role in co-regulation in prokaryotes. Although over 200 complete genome sequences are now available, databases providing genome-wide operon information have been limited to certain specific genomes. Thus, we have developed an ODB (Operon DataBase), which provides a data retrieval system of known operons among the many complete genomes. Additionally, putative ...

The genes required for use of ethanolamine as a carbon and nitrogen source are encoded by a single operon (eut) whose expression is induced by the simultaneous presence of both ethanolamine and cobalamin (vitamin B12). The action of B12 as an inducer of this operon reflects the fact that this cofactor is required by the degradative enzyme ethanolamine lyase (eutBC). The eutR gene encodes a prot...

Pertussis toxin (PT), the major virulence factor of Bordetella pertussis, is composed of five different subunits whose genes are organized as an operon. We report the mapping of the promoter region of the PT operon and show that this promoter is only weakly active in Escherichia coli. Bordetella parapertussis and Bordetella bronchiseptica, which do not produce any PT, are shown to have a weaker...

The bph operon of Pseudomonas sp. KKS102 is constituted of 11 bph genes which encode enzymes for biphenyl assimilation. Growth of a mutant in which a large part of the bph operon was deleted was inhibited by biphenyl in a concentration-dependent manner. We constructed a series of bph operon deletion mutants and tested for their biphenyl sensitivity. Growth inhibition by biphenyl was more promin...

The heat shock response of the groESL operon of Agrobacterium tumefaciens was studied at the RNA level. The operon was found to be activated under heat shock conditions and transcribed as a polycistronic mRNA that contains the groES and groEL genes. After activation, the polycistronic mRNA appeared to be cleaved between the groES and groEL genes and formed two monocistronic mRNAs. The groES cle...

The csa-15 locus of Bacillus subtilis corresponds to an operon encoding proteins which display features characteristic of the ABC group of transporters. Sequence analysis reveals a very high level of identity to the ribose transport operon of Escherichia coli. This hypothesis is supported by the observation that strains carrying mutagenic insertions in this operon are unable to grow on ribose a...