With Lrp bacteria survive famine

The leucine-responsive regulatory protein is a global transcription regulator that has a role in the control of different phases of bacterial growth, but the genes involved in the control of this mechanism have been unclear. In the September 30 early edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Travis Tani and colleagues at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, US, show that Lrp controls nearly 147 genes that are induced when bacteria needs to adapt to a nutrient depleted, stationary phase (PNAS, DOI/10.1073.212510999, September 30, 2002).

Tani et al. performed microarray analysis on >98% of E. coli genes and compared isogenic Lrp- and Lrp+ strains in cells grown in glucose minimal medium, either in the presence or absence of leucine. They observed that transcription of 147 genes was lower in Lrp+ than in Lrp- cells whether or not leucine was present. This cluster included genes involved in the cells ...