Identification and Characterization ofaarF, a Locus Required for Production of Ubiquinone inProvidencia stuartii and Escherichia coli and for Expression of 2′-N-Acetyltransferase inP. stuartii
ABSTRACT Providencia stuartii contains a chromosomal 2′-N-acetyltransferase [AAC(2′)-Ia] involved in the O acetylation of peptidoglycan. The AAC(2′)-Ia enzyme is also capable of acetylating and inactivating certain aminoglycosides and confers high-level resistance to these antibiotics when overexpressed. We report the identification of a locus in P. stuartii, designated aarF, that is required for the expression of AAC(2′)-Ia. Northern (RNA) analysis demonstrated thataac(2′)-Ia mRNA levels were dramatically decreased in aP. stuartii strain carrying anaarF::Cm disruption. TheaarF::Cm disruption also resulted in a deficiency in the respiratory cofactor ubiquinone. The aarF locus encoded a protein that had a predicted molecular mass of 62,559 Da and that exhibited extensive amino acid similarity to the products of two adjacent open reading frames of unknown function (YigQ and YigR), located at 86 min on the Escherichia coli chromosome. AnE. coli yigR::Kan mutant was also deficient in ubiquinone content. Complementation studies demonstrated that theaarF and the E. coli yigQR loci were functionally equivalent. The aarF or yigQRgenes were unable to complement ubiD and ubiEmutations that are also present at 86 min on the E. colichromosome. This result indicates that aarF(yigQR) represents a novel locus for ubiquinone production and reveals a previously unreported connection between ubiquinone biosynthesis and the regulation of gene expression.