Activation of prophage eib genes for immunoglobulin-binding proteins by genes from the IbrAB genetic island of Escherichia coli ECOR-9.

ABSTRACT: Four distinct Escherichia coli immunoglobulin-binding (eib) genes, each of which encodes a surface-exposed protein that binds immunoglobulins in a nonimmune manner, are carried by separate prophages in E. coli reference (ECOR) strain ECOR-9. Each eib gene was transferred to test E. coli strains, both in the form of multicopy recombinant plasmids and as lysogenized prophage. The derived lysogens express little or no Eib protein, in sharp contrast to the parental lysogen, suggesting that ECOR-9 has an expression-enhancing activity that the derived lysogens lack. Supporting this hypothesis, we cloned from ECOR-9 overlapping genes, ibrA and ibrB (designation is derived from "immunoglobulin-binding regulator"), which together activated eib expression in the derived lysogens. The proteins encode

SUBMITTER: Sandt CH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC135156 | biostudies-literature | 2002 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature