These observations allowed us to rule out the participation of σT and σE in the control of sigF expression. To further verify if the promoter region upstream of sigF is controlled by σF, we overexpressed sigF in the parental strain from an additional plasmid-encoded copy of the gene under the control of a constitutive

promoter (construct pCM30) and measured β-galactosidase activity in these cells harboring either pCKlac53-1 or pCKlac53-2. Overexpression www.selleckchem.com/GSK-3.html of sigF in cells with the construct containing the complete sigF promoter (pCK53-1) led to an increase in β-galactosidase activity, whereas no difference was observed in cells harboring the promoterless construct pCKlac53-2 (Figure 3B). Similarly, higher β-galactosidase activity was observed in sigF overexpressing cells bearing the construct containing the promoter sequence motifs upstream from CC3254 (pCKlac54-1) when compared to the parental strain carrying the same construct or sigF overexpressing cells harboring the construct containing only the −10 motif of the promoter sequence of CC3254-CC3255-CC3256-CC3257 (pCKlac54-2) (Figure 3B). Therefore, these results confirm

that specific and highly similar promoter sequence motifs found upstream from sigF-CC3252 and CC3254-CC3255-CC3256-CC3257 are required for the control of these transcriptional units by σF. CC3252 negatively regulates σF regulon expression The chromosomal organization of CC3252 and Dabrafenib molecular weight sigF in a putative operon suggests that CC3252 could be involved in the same regulatory pathway of σF. To test the assumption that CC3252 could control σF activity, we monitored the expression of σF-dependent genes in parental cells overexpressing CC3252 from a plasmid-encoded copy of the gene under the control of the constitutive lacZ promoter present in vector pJS14. For that, cells overexpressing

CC3252 were stressed or not with dichromate and compared in qRT-PCR experiments with cells harboring the empty vector pJS14 or cells without this vector under the same conditions. According to qRT-PCR experiments, expression of genes GNA12 CC2906 and CC3255 was slightly reduced in cells overexpressing CC3252 under no stress conditions, when compared to cells with the empty vector pJS14 or cells without the vector (Figure 4). However, induction of CC2906 and CC3255 expression under dichromate stress was clearly absent in CC3252 overproducing cells, when compared to cells not overexpressing CC3252 (Figure 4). No difference could be found in the expression levels of two control genes (CC1039 and CC0566) when we compared cells overexpressing CC3252 or not (data not shown). This observation rules out a possible nonspecific effect due to overproduction of the protein. Taken together, these data indicate that CC3252, here denominated nrsF, acts as a negative regulator of σF function in C. crescentus.