Integration of signals through Crc and PtsN in catabolite repression of Pseudomonas putida TOL plasmid pWW0

Toluene degradation in Pseudomonas putida KT2440 pWW0 plasmid is subjected to catabolite repression. Pu and Psi promoters of the pWW0 TOL plasmid are down-regulated in vivo during exponential growth in rich medium. In cells growing on minimal medium, yeast extract (YE) addition mimics exponential-phase rich medium repression of these promoters. We have constructed and tested mutants in a series of global regulators described in Pseudomonas. We describe that a mutant in ere (catabolite repression control) partially relieves YE repression. Macroarray experiments show that crc transcription is strongly increased in the presence of YF, inversely correlated with TOL pathway expression. On the other hand, we have found that induced levels of expression from Pu and P-s in the presence of YE are partially derepressed in a ptsN mutant of P. putida. PtsN but not Crc seems to directly interfere with XylR activation at target promoters. The effect of the double mutation in ptsN and ere is not the sum of the effects of each independent mutation and suggests that both regulators are elements of a common regulatory pathway. Basal expression levels from these promoters in the absence of inducer are still XylR dependent and are also repressed in the presence of yeast extract. Neither crc nor ptsN could relieve this repression.