Benzoic Acid-Inducible Gene Expression in Mycobacteria
Dragset, Marte Singsås; Barczak, Amy K.; Kannan, Nisha; Mærk, Mali; Flo, Trude Helen; Valla, Svein; Rubin, Eric J.; Steigedal, Magnus
Journal article, Peer reviewed
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http://hdl.handle.net/11250/2358404Utgivelsesdato
2015Metadata
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Sammendrag
Conditional expression is a powerful tool to investigate the role of bacterial genes. Here, we
adapt the Pseudomonas putida-derived positively regulated XylS/Pm expression system to
control inducible gene expression in Mycobacterium smegmatis and Mycobacterium tuberculosis,
the causative agent of human tuberculosis. By making simple changes to a Gramnegative
broad-host-range XylS/Pm-regulated gene expression vector, we prove that it is
possible to adapt this well-studied expression system to non-Gram-negative species. With
the benzoic acid-derived inducer m-toluate, we achieve a robust, time- and dose-dependent
reversible induction of Pm-mediated expression in mycobacteria, with low background
expression levels. XylS/Pm is thus an important addition to existing mycobacterial expression
tools, especially when low basal expression is of particular importance.