ESCHERICHIA-COLI METR MUTANTS THAT PRODUCE A METR ACTIVATOR PROTEIN WITH AN ALTERED HOMOCYSTEINE RESPONSE

Using an Escherichia coli lac deletion strain lysogenized with a λ phage carrying a metH-lacZ gene fusion, we isolated trans-acting mutations that result in simultaneous 4- to 6-fold-elevated metH-lacZ expression, 5- to 22-fold-lowered metE-lacZ expression, and 9- to 20-fold-elevated metR-lacZ expression. The altered regulation of these genes occurs in the presence of high intracellular levels of homocysteine, a methionine pathway intermediate which normally inhibits metH and metR expression and stimulates metE expression. P1 transductions and complementation tests indicate that the mutations are in the metR gene. Our data suggest that the mutations result in an altered MetR activator protein that has lost the ability to use homocysteine as a modulator of gene expression.