Identification, characterization, and expression of a second, bicistronic, operon involved in the production of lactocin S in Lactobacillus sakei L45.

ABSTRACT: Through the analysis of spontaneous insertion mutants of Lactobacillus sakei L45, a second operon involved in lactocin S production was identified and characterized. The new, bicistronic unit, termed lasXY, is situated immediately upstream of the previously characterized nine-open reading frame (ORF) lactocin S operon (lasA-W) and is transcribed in the opposite direction. The proximal of the two newly identified genes, lasX, specifies a 285-residue protein that is similar to a group of proteins with reported gene regulation functions in gram-positive bacteria. It was demonstrated that the lasX mutants have a strongly reduced level of lasA and lasA-W mRNA, thus indicating the likely cause of the Bac(-) phenotype of these mutants. The second ORF in the operon, lasY, specifies a 300-residue A

SUBMITTER: Skaugen M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC126710 | biostudies-literature | 2002 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature