THE ESCHERICHIA-COLI FIS PROTEIN IS NOT REQUIRED FOR THE ACTIVATION OF TYRT TRANSCRIPTION ON ENTRY INTO EXPONENTIAL-GROWTH

The Escherichia coli DNA bending protein factor for inversion stimulation (FIS), is neither necessary nor responsible for the stimulation of transcription from the wild type promoter for the tyrT operon (encoding a species of tyrosine tRNA) that occurs upon resumption of exponential growth. This conclusion is unexpected given that the regulatory element required for optimal transcription of tyrT contains three binding sites for FIS protein. In addition, it is in apparent conflict with reports from other laboratories which have described FIS-dependent activation of the stable RNA promoters rrnB Pl and thrU(tufB) in vivo. However, tyrT transcription is stimulated in a FIS-dependent manner both in vivo and in vitro when promoter function is impaired by mutation of the promoter itself or by the addition of the polymerase effector guanosine 5'-diphosphate 3'-diphosphate. These conditions, which expose a requirement for activation of stable RNA synthesis by FIS, suggest that FIS serves an adaptive role permitting high levels of stable RNA transcription on nutritional shift-up when RNA polymerase levels are depleted. In principle such a mechanism could confer a significant selective advantage thus accounting for the conservation of FIS binding sites in the regulatory regions of stable RNA promoters.