Photosynthesis
The RegB/RegA system was discovered by selecting for mutations that exhibited reduced synthesis of the photosystem ini
R. capsulatus (
55,
78). An intact copy of
regA was shown to be absolutely required for
R. capsulatus to grow photosynthetically under dim light, which is a growth condition that requires maximum transcription of the
puh,
puf, and
puc operons, which code for apoproteins of the light-harvesting and reaction center complexes. As is the case for RegA, RegB is also necessary for anaerobic induction of the
puc,
puf, and
puh operons (
55). Mutations in the RegB and RegA homologues from
R. sphaeroides show similar effects with respect to the control of
puh,
puf, and
puc expression, with the difference that RegA is indispensable for photosynthetic growth under all light intensities (
29).
As is the case for many RegB/RegA-regulated promoters, numerous other transcription factors have been found to control
puf,
puh, and
puc operon expression in
R. capsulatus (
3,
4). DNase I footprint assays showed that CrtJ and RegA compete for binding to overlapping sites in the
puc promoter (
8). An additional aerobic repressor called AerR also represses the
puf operon; the site of AerR repression has not yet been determined (
17). In addition to CrtJ and AerR, the H-NS-like protein HvrA regulates the
puf and
puh promoters, where it functions as an activator in
R. capsulatus and as a repressor in
R. sphaeroides (
10,
59,
80). The location of HvrA binding in
R. sphaeroides is unknown, but in
R. capsulatus, the HvrA DNA-binding site is adjacent to RegA DNA-binding sites (
48). In both
R. capsulatus and
R. sphaeroides, the histone-like protein IHF is required for maximal
puc operon transcription (
58,
96). FnrL in
R. sphaeroides also anaerobically activates
puc expression, whereas inactivation of
fnrL in
R. capsulatus has no noticeable affect on photosynthetic growth (reviewed in reference
96). Thus, there are numerous potential protein-protein interactions that might exist between RegA and a number of other transcription factors that control these photosystem promoters. Currently, little is known about the nature of these interactions or their importance in controlling photosystem gene expression.
In addition to controlling the synthesis of light-harvesting and reaction center apoproteins, RegA affects the expression of the
bchE promoter in
R. sphaeroides, which encodes an enzyme in the bacteriochlorophyll biosynthesis pathway (
62). There are also reports that RegA from
R. sphaeroides controls the expression of
hemA,
hemZ, and
hemN (
62,
65), which encode one δ-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) synthase isoenzyme and two coproporphyrinogen III oxidases, respectively: enzymes involved in the Mg- and Fe-tetrapyrrole biosynthetic pathways. Abada et al. (
1) have also reported an involvement of the
R. capsulatus RegB/RegA system in bacteriochlorophyll-dependent expression of the
puc,
puf, and
bchC operons. Therefore, not only does RegB/RegA control the synthesis of the photosystem and cytochrome apoproteins (the role of RegB/RegA in cytochrome biogenesis is discussed below), but also they control synthesis of bacteriochlorophyll and heme that are bound by these respective apoproteins.
Electron Transfer System
An important discovery was made in 1994 that hinted at the global nature of the RegB/RegA signal transduction cascade. The RegA homologue from
R. sphaeroides (PrrA) was found to positively regulate the expression of
cycA, which encodes cytochrome
c2 (
29). Cytochrome
c2 is an important element of the electron transfer system shared by several energy-generating pathways including those of photosynthesis and respiration. Primer extension and in vitro transcription studies have indicated that PrrA positively controls the P2 promoter, which is one of three promoters driving the expression of
cycA under both aerobic and anaerobic conditions. Expression from P2 is responsible for basal expression under aerobiosis as well as for induction under anaerobic conditions (
45). Evidence that RegA directly controls
cycA expression was also provided by DNase I protection assays, which showed that RegA* from
R. capsulatus binds to a region of P2 centered at bp −50 from the start site of transcription (
45). Furthermore, in vitro transcription assays confirmed that
R. sphaeroides PrrA directly activates
cycA transcription (
14).
Swem et al. (
83) demonstrated that RegB/RegA controls synthesis of cytochrome
c2 as well as cytochrome
cy and the cytochrome
bc1 complex in
R. capsulatus. The expression patterns of these different cytochrome genes were compared in wild-type and
regA-disrupted strains, which revealed that RegA activates the biosynthesis of cytochromes
bc1 and
c2 under anaerobic, semiaerobic, and aerobic growth conditions, whereas it activates cytochrome
cy only under semiaerobic and anaerobic conditions. DNase I protection assays also demonstrated that RegA binds to two sites on the promoter of the
pet (
bc1) operon and to four sites on the promoters of the
cycA and
cycY genes encoding cytochrome
c2 and cytochrome
cy, respectively (
83) (Fig.
3). These three promoters belong to the type III class of RegA-regulated promoters (discussed above), where there is one DNA-binding site that overlaps the start site of transcription and one site located just upstream from the −35 promoter region. The in vivo involvement of these different RegA-binding sites still needs to be determined.
Differences in expression patterns of these various cytochromes suggest that additional transcription factors may also regulate the expression of these genes. For example, evidence suggests the involvement of another protein besides RegA, that regulates
cycA expression in the absence of O
2 in
R. sphaeroides (
45). There is also a response regulator and a putative repressor located just upstream of the
pet operon, which is suspected to be involved in controlling the expression of cytochrome
bc1 apoproteins (
91). Thus, as with other cellular processes, RegB/RegA appears to be just one component of a more complex regulatory network that controls the biosynthesis of cytochrome apoproteins.
Aerobic Respiration
Like many bacterial species,
R. capsulatus possesses a branched respiratory chain involving two different terminal oxidases. In one branch, the ubiquinol (ubihydroquinone) oxidase takes electrons directly from the quinone pool to reduce O
2 to H
2O. The second branch, which is similar to the mitochondrial electron transfer chain, is composed of the cytochrome
bc1 complex, cytochromes
c2 or
cy, and a
cbb3-type cytochrome
c oxidase (
37). Cytochromes
cy,
c2, and
bc1 are also involved in photosynthetic electron transfer events, shuttling electrons from cytochrome
bc1 back to the photosynthetic reaction center either by the membrane-associated cytochrome
cy or by the soluble cytochrome
c2 (
37).
Both of the terminal oxidases are maximally synthesized under semiaerobic growth conditions. However, the two oxidases are differentially regulated in regards to high and no (or very low) oxygen levels, with the ubiquinol oxidase exhibiting a low level of expression under aerobic conditions and a higher level under anaerobic conditions. The converse is true for cytochrome
cbb3 oxidase, which exhibits higher expression under aerobic than anaerobic growth conditions (
83,
85). This expression pattern indicates that cytochrome
cbb3 oxidase from
R. capsulatus may have a lower affinity for oxygen than does the ubiquinol oxidase (
87,
95).
RegA has been observed to activate cytochrome
cbb3 oxidase expression semiaerobically and aerobically while repressing expression anaerobically. The mechanism and the significance of this observation are not yet well understood (
83). DNase I footprint analysis revealed that RegA directly controls the synthesis of cytochrome
cbb3 oxidase by binding to a site on the
ccoNOQP promoter located just upstream from the −35 sequence (Fig.
3) (
83). Although there was an early report that FnrL does not affect cytochrome
cbb3 oxidase synthesis in
R. capsulatus (
96), more recent analysis indicates that expression of
ccoNOPQ is indeed lower in an
fnrL-disrupted mutant under semiaerobic and anaerobic conditions (
85).
The expression pattern of the
cydAB operon, encoding ubiquinol oxidase, suggests that the enzyme has a higher affinity for oxygen than does cytochrome
cbb3 oxidase (
83,
85). As observed for the
ccoNOQP operon, RegB/RegA is involved in the regulation of
cydAB expression, with RegA being required for activation of
cydAB transcription under all growth conditions tested. DNase footprint assays indicate that RegA binds to two sites upstream from the −35 region of the promoter (Fig.
3) (
83).
Recently, RegB/RegA homologues from
P. aeruginosa (RoxS/RoxR) were reported to be involved in the control of aerobic respiration (
15). More precisely, RoxS/RoxR controls the induction of the cyanide-insensitive oxidase in the presence of cyanide. It is proposed that RoxR coregulates the
cioAB promoter with another anaerobic regulator, ANR, thereby permitting the integration of different stimuli in the control of cyanide-insensitive oxidase expression.
Anaerobic Respiration
R. capsulatus and
R. sphaeroides are both capable of anaerobic respiration using dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) as a terminal electron acceptor (
95). The reduction of DMSO is catalyzed by a membrane-bound DMSO reductase enzyme that is encoded by the
dorCDA operon. The
dor operon is under the transcriptional control of a two-component signal transduction system, DorS/DorR, that responds to the availability of DMSO (
56,
57,
79). The sensor kinase, DorS, is known to autophosphorylate in the presence of DMSO, with the phosphate transferred to the response regulator, DorR, which then activates
dorCDA expression. The
dorCDA operon is known to also be under the control of the RegB/RegA system, with RegA acting as a repressor of the
dorCDA operon during photoheterotrophic growth in the presence of malate as a carbon source (
44). However, RegA seems to lose control of the
dorCDA operon if the cells are grown on pyruvate rather than malate. This indicates that another, unidentified, regulator can suppress the
regA mutant phenotype in cells grown on pyruvate but not in cells grown on malate. It is not yet known if the effect of RegA on the
dorCDA operon is direct or indirect. However, since no obvious RegA DNA-binding sequence has been found in the
dorCDA promoter, the influence of RegA on
dorCDA expression may be indirect. Nonetheless, this appears to be another instance in which the RegB/RegA system exerts transcriptional control over a system that is responsible for energy generation.
Carbon Fixation
The Calvin-Benson-Bassham reductive pentose phosphate pathway allows the production of organic carbon via the assimilation of CO
2. Carbon fixation also plays an important role under photoheterotrophic growth conditions, where it acts as an electron sink that is needed to balance the redox potential of the cell. Consequently, mutants of
R. capsulatus and
R. sphaeroides that are devoid of a functional Calvin cycle do not grow photoheterotrophically unless exogenous electron acceptors such as DMSO are provided (reviewed in references
86 and
89 and references therein).
Enzymes of the Calvin cycle are encoded by the
cbbI and
cbbII operons. Transcription of these operons is regulated in response to carbon by the transcriptional activator CbbR, which is a member of the LysR family of transcription factors. CbbR is absolutely required for expression of the
cbbI operon, since inactivation of the
R. sphaeroides cbbR gene leads to the absence of transcription through the
cbb1 operon and to a strong reduction of
cbbII expression (
34). CbbR directly regulates
cbbI expression by binding to two sites located in the promoter-proximal region, as demonstrated by in vitro DNase I footprint experiments (
20,
21).
An involvement of the RegB/RegA system in the biosynthesis of Calvin cycle enzymes was first discovered in
R. sphaeroides by screening for mutants that derepress an alternative CO
2 fixation pathway (
75). From studies of these mutants, it was demonstrated that RegB (PrrB) of
R. sphaeroides was required for positive regulation of the
cbb operons, both anaerobically in the light and aerobically in the dark (
75). Using purified
R. capsulatus RegA*, Dubbs et al. (
20,
22) demonstrated that RegA directly controls
R. sphaeroides cbb expression by binding to four sites in the
cbbI promoter and to six sites on the
cbbII promoter (Fig.
3). The authors hypothesized that the locations of RegA binding could allow direct interactions with CbbR and/or with RNA polymerase. Furthermore, binding of RegA to the two sites located in the upstream activating sequence in the
cbbI promoter appears responsible for a RegA-mediated 41-fold enhancement in
cbbI expression (
20).
Gibson et al. (
33) demonstrated that chemoautotrophically grown
regA (
prrA) mutants of
R. sphaeroides differentially express the two
cbb operons with expression of the
cbbII promoter being severely reduced and expression of the
cbbI promoter being enhanced in the
prrA mutant strain. This result indicates that PrrA functions as an activator of
cbbII and a repressor of
cbbI. Analysis of promoter mutants suggests that RegA may bind to distinct regions in
cbbII and in
cbbI during photoautotrophic and chemoautotrophic growth.
In
R. capsulatus, the RegB/RegA system also controls the expression of the two
cbb operons that are present in this species (
93). The
cbbI and
cbbII operons are regulated by cognate CbbR proteins encoded by the
cbbRI and
cbbRII genes. The
cbbRI and
cbbRII genes are located upstream of, and are divergently transcribed from, the
cbbI and
cbbII operons, respectively. The CbbR
I protein is able to control its own expression (down regulation) as well as
cbbII expression under certain conditions (
69,
93). On both the
cbbI and
cbbII operon promoters, CbbR binds to a site that overlaps the −35 region, which suggests that protein-protein interactions between CbbR and the RNA polymerase are required for transcriptional activation. Inactivation of
regA and
regB affects
cbbI and
cbbII expression, with only 14 and 10% of wild-type levels, respectively, found in a
regA-disrupted strain under photoautotrophic growth conditions. RegA* was also shown to bind to two DNA-binding sites in both the
cbbI and
cbbII promoter regions. There is a major high-affinity RegA binding site located at bp −102 to −121, upstream of the
cbbI transcription start site, that is assumed to be involved in transcriptional activation in concert with CbbR
I. A low-affinity RegA binding site is located at positions −4 to −19, overlapping a CbbR
I DNA-binding site located at positions −18 to −79. Presumably the low-affinity RegA binding site that overlaps the CbbR site plays a negative role as a result of RegA-mediated occlusion of CbbR
I binding to this region. On the
cbbII promoter, there are two high-affinity RegA-binding sites, one located at positions −101 to −116 and the second located at positions −124 to −169. The upstream location of these binding sites suggests that they are involved in activation. The
cbbII promoter also contains a CbbR
II DNA-binding site located at positions −19 to −78.
It has been reported that RegA homologues from
B. japonicum (RegR) and
S. meliloti (ActR) also function as activators of
cbb operons in concert with CbbR (
27,
32). Thus, as was demonstrated for
R. capsulatus, RegA homologues appear to control CO
2 fixation in a number of photosynthetic and nonphotosynthetic bacteria.
Nitrogen Fixation
Conditions of nitrogen and oxygen limitation are known to activate the expression of
nif genes, which are required for the biosynthesis of molybdenum nitrogenase (reviewed in reference
52). Joshi and Tabita (
43) made the surprising discovery that RegA (PrrA) from
R. sphaeroides was also involved in the control of nitrogen fixation, underscoring the global role of the RegB/RegA system. Specifically, they observed that nitrogenase synthesis is derepressed in the presence of excess ammonium in strains that lacked a functional CO
2 fixation pathway. They reasoned that CO
2 fixation normally functions as an electron sink to dissipate excess reducing equivalents generated by photoheterotrophic growth. In the absence of CO
2 fixation, they concluded that nitrogenase becomes derepressed to serve as an alternative secondary electron sink. Interestingly, a functional
regB gene is required for derepression of nitrogenase in the absence of carbon fixation.
Elsen et al. (
23) shed light on the mechanism of derepression of nitrogenase in
R. capsulatus by showing that the RegB/RegA system indirectly controls expression of the
nifHDK operon, which encodes the molybdenum-containing nitrogenase complex. In
R. capsulatus and in many other species, nitrogenase expression is regulated by nitrogen limitation through the NtrB/NtrC two-component system. Under nitrogen-limiting conditions NtrB phosphorylates NtrC, which then activates
nifA transcription by binding to two tandem sites centered >100 bp upstream of the transcriptional start site. NifA then activates the expression of numerous
nif genes, including
nifHKD (reviewed in reference
52). In
R. capsulatus, there are two functional copies of
nifA,
nifA1 and
nifA2, either of which can activate
nifHDK expression. Elsen et al. (
23) demonstrated that RegA binds to the
nifA2 promoter between the tandem NtrC DNA-binding sites and the −35 and −10 promoter sequences. Interestingly, RegA-mediated activation of
nifA2 transcription requires NtrC, indicating that RegA∼P alone is not sufficient to stimulate
nifA2 expression (
23). Thus, RegA appears to provide an overarching layer of redox control on top of the control of nitrogen availability provided by NtrC.
In
B. japonicum, the RegB/RegA homologues (RegS/RegR) are required for the aerobic and anaerobic expression of the
fixRnifA operon (
6). Interestingly, a mutation that disrupts the response regulator RegR reduces
fixR nifA expression and consequently nitrogen fixation activity. However, no related phenotype was observed on disruption of the sensor kinase, RegS. RegR mutants of
B. japonicum form nodules, but the nodules are functionally incapable of fixing nitrogen (a Fix
− phenotype). Electron micrographic analysis indicates that nodules formed on infection by the RegR-disrupted strain failed to produce bacteroids, which are differentiated
B. japonicum cells that undertake nitrogen fixation (
6).
Hydrogen Oxidation
R. capsulatus possesses the
hupSLC operon, which codes for a membrane-bound uptake [NiFe]hydrogenase that catalyzes H
2 oxidation. This enzyme allows the bacterium to grow autotrophically with H
2 as the sole electron source (reviewed in reference
94). Hydrogenase can also recycle electrons from H
2 to nitrogenase under photoheterotrophic growth conditions. Biosynthesis of hydrogenase is regulated by growth conditions, with expression and activity being highest in the presence of its substrate, H
2 (
13).
H
2 regulation is mediated by the two-component regulatory system HupT/HupR, with the response regulator HupR directly activating
hupSLC transcription in the presence of H
2 (
16). The nonphosphorylated form, HupR, binds to the
hupSLC promoter at a palindromic sequence centered at bp −157 with respect to the transcription start site. Maximal expression of
hupSLC also requires the binding of IHF between the HupR and RNA polymerase DNA-binding sites (reference
92 and references therein).
Elsen et al. (
23) demonstrated that RegA is involved in repressing
hupSLC expression under both aerobic and anaerobic heterotrophic growth conditions. A major DNA-binding site of RegA was shown to be located close to the −35 promoter recognition sequence, with a second, lower-affinity RegA-binding site overlapping the IHF DNA-binding region. At that location, it is possible that RegA could prevent either the RNA polymerase or the IHF protein, or both, from binding to the
hupSLC promoter. Interestingly, a deletion in RegB can be suppressed by addition of multiple copies of the sensor kinase HupT (
36). Presumably, increased amounts of HupT are capable of phosphorylating RegA in the absence of RegB.
Dehydrogenases
Glutathione-dependent formaldehyde dehydrogenase plays an important role in the detoxification of formaldehyde by converting it to formate. Analysis of the expression of the glutathione-dependent formaldehyde dehydrogenase gene,
adhI, demonstrated that
adhI expression is under the control of several effectors that respond to formaldehyde, methanol, or other formaldehyde adducts (
2). This enzyme is absolutely required for growth with carbon sources such as methanol, that generate formaldehyde. Formaldehyde oxidation creates reducing power in the form of NADH, thereby providing cellular energy as a product. Interestingly, RegA (PrrA) was shown to be essential for normal aerobic expression of the
adhI gene in
R. sphaeroides (
2). Analysis of RegA binding to the
adhI promoter has not been undertaken, so it is not yet certain whether RegA directly or indirectly affects the expression of formaldehyde dehydrogenase.
In
S. meliloti, the RegB and RegA homologues, ActS and ActR, control the biosynthesis of three dehydrogenases, formaldehyde dehydrogenase, formate dehydrogenase, and methanol dehydrogenase, as well as CO
2 fixation (
32). The ActS/ActR system is also involved in acid tolerance (
90).
Aerotaxis
Romagnoli et al. (
77) reported that the aerotactic motility response of
R. sphaeroides is partially under the control of the RegB/RegA system. Their study indicated that aerotaxis in
R. sphaeroides involves the second chemosensory operon
cheOp2, which is one of three
che clusters present in
R. sphaeroides. Deletion of
cheOp2 genes results in complete loss of aerotaxis, while deletion of
regB (
prrB) results in partial loss of aerotaxis. Deletions of the three linked regulatory genes
regB,
regA, and
senC (
prrBCA) restores the aerotactic ability of a
cheOp2 deletion (
77). It is not well understood why a deletion of the sensor kinase gene,
regB, results in a nonaerotactic phenotype whereas deletion of the entire
reg operon allows aerotaxis.
It will take further analysis to determine the exact role of RegB and RegA in controlling aerotaxis, such as the ability of RegB to directly affect phosphorylation of the chemotaxis cascade or simply modulate the abundance of the chemosensory apparatus. Nevertheless, aerotactic control going through the RegB/RegA cascade is certainly novel.