Expression of the pMGA genes of Mycoplasma gallisepticum is controlled by variation in the GAA trinucleotide repeat lengths within the 5′ noncoding regions

We analyzed the segment of DNA which contains the expressed pMGA gene from one strain of Mycoplasma gallisepticum in normal (strain S6) cells and in cells in which pMGA1.1 gene expression had ceased as a consequence of in vitro culture in the presence of pMGA1.1-specific antibodies. Sequence analysis of isolates lacking pMGA1.1 expression revealed that this gene, which is typically expressed, exhibited sequence changes within a region 5' to its promoter. Specifically, pMGA1.1(+) cells contained a (GAA)(12) motif upstream of the promoter, whereas in pMGA1.1(-) cells the corresponding region contained a (GAA)(10) motif; when such cells were grown in medium no longer containing pMGA-specific antibodies, pMGA1.1 was reexpressed and the 5' (GAA)(12) motif was restored. Two other genes, pMGA1.9 and pMGA1.2, were also shown to acquire a (GAA)(12) motif in clones which expressed these genes. The results imply the evolution by the pMGA genes of M. gallisepticum of a novel transcriptional requirement which facilitates rapid and reversible switches in the pMGA expression pattern.