Anti-Sigma Factors in E. coli: Common Regulatory Mechanisms Controlling Sigma Factors Availability.

ABSTRACT: In bacteria, transcriptional regulation is a key step in cellular gene expression. All bacteria contain a core RNA polymerase that is catalytically competent but requires an additional σ factor for specific promoter recognition and correct transcriptional initiation. The RNAP core is not able to selectively bind to a given σ factor. In contrast, different σ factors have different affinities for the RNAP core. As a consequence, the concentration of alternate σ factors requires strict regulation in order to properly control the delicate interplay among them, which favors the competence for the RNAP core. This control is archived by different σ/anti-σ controlling mechanisms that shape complex regulatory networks and cascades, and enable the response to sudden environmental cues, whose global

SUBMITTER: Trevino-Quintanilla LG 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3861889 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature