The MarR-Type Regulator Rdh2R RegulatesrdhGene Transcription in Dehalococcoides mccartyi Strain CBDB1
ABSTRACTReductive dehalogenases are essential enzymes in organohalide respiration and consist of a catalytic subunit A and a membrane protein B, encoded byrdhABgenes. Thirty-twordhABgenes exist in the genome ofDehalococcoides mccartyistrain CBDB1. To gain a first insight into the regulation ofrdhoperons, the control of gene expression of twordhABgenes (cbdbA1453/cbdbA1452 and cbdbA1455/cbdbA1454) by the MarR-type regulator Rdh2R (cbdbA1456) encoded directly upstream was studied using heterologous expression andin vitrostudies. Promoter-lacZreporter fusions were generated and integrated into the genome of theEscherichia colihost. ThelacZreporter activities of bothrdhApromoters decreased upon transformation of the cells with a plasmid carrying therdh2Rgene, suggesting that Rdh2R acts as repressor, whereas thelacZreporter activity of therdh2Rpromoter was not affected. The transcriptional start sites of bothrdhAgenes in strain CBDB1 and/or the heterologous host mapped to a conserved direct repeat with 11- to 13-bp half-sites. DNase I footprinting revealed binding of Rdh2R to a ∼30-bp sequence covering the complete direct repeat in both promoters, including the transcriptional start sites. Equilibrium sedimentation ultracentrifugation revealed that Rdh2R binds as tetramer to the direct-repeat motif of therdhA(cbdbA1455) promoter. Using electrophoretic mobility shift assays, a similar binding affinity was found for bothrdhApromoters. In the presence of only one half-site of the direct repeat, the interaction was strongly reduced, suggesting a positive cooperativity of binding, for which unusual short palindromes within the direct-repeat half-sites might play an important role.IMPORTANCEDehalococcoides mccartyistrains are obligate anaerobes that grow by organohalide respiration. They have an important bioremediation potential because they are capable of reducing a multitude of halogenated compounds to less toxic products. We are now beginning to understand how these organisms make use of this large catabolic potential, wherebyD. mccartyiexpresses dehalogenases in a compound-specific fashion. MarR-type regulators are often encoded in the vicinity of reductive dehalogenase genes. In this study, we made use of heterologous expression andin vitrostudies to demonstrate that the MarR-type transcription factor Rdh2R acts as a negative regulator. We identify its binding site on the DNA, which suggests a mechanism by which it controls the expression of two adjacent reductive dehalogenase operons.