Expression of the endogenous type II secretion pathway in Escherichia coli leads to chitinase secretion

Escherichia coli K‐12, the most widely used laboratory bacterium, does not secrete proteins into the extracellular medium under standard growth conditions, despite possessing chromosomal genes encoding a putative type II secretion machinery (secreton). We show that in wild‐type E.coli K‐12, divergen...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The EMBO journal 2000-12, Vol.19 (24), p.6697-6703
Main Authors: Francetic, Olivera, Belin, Dominique, Badaut, Cyril, Pugsley, Anthony P.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Bacterial Proteins - genetics
Bacterial Proteins - secretion
Base Sequence
chitinase
Chitinases
Chromosome Mapping
Escherichia coli - enzymology
Escherichia coli - genetics
Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial
Gene Expression Regulation, Enzymologic
H-NS
Molecular Sequence Data
Operon
Plasmids
promoters
protein secretion
secreton
Transcription, Genetic
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Summary:Escherichia coli K‐12, the most widely used laboratory bacterium, does not secrete proteins into the extracellular medium under standard growth conditions, despite possessing chromosomal genes encoding a putative type II secretion machinery (secreton). We show that in wild‐type E.coli K‐12, divergent transcription of the two operons in the main chromosomal gsp locus, encoding the majority of the secreton components, is silenced by the nucleoid‐structuring protein H‐NS. In mutants lacking H‐NS, the secreton genes cloned on a moderate‐copy‐number plasmid are expressed and promote efficient secretion of the endogenous, co‐regulated endochitinase ChiA. This is the first time that secretion of an endogenous extracellular protein has been demonstrated in E.coli K‐12.
ISSN:0261-4189
1460-2075
1460-2075
DOI:10.1093/emboj/19.24.6697