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New insights into transcriptional regulation by H-NS.
Title | New insights into transcriptional regulation by H-NS. |
Publication Type | Journal Article |
Year of Publication | 2008 |
Authors | Fang, FC, Rimsky, S |
Journal | Curr Opin Microbiol |
Volume | 11 |
Issue | 2 |
Pagination | 113-20 |
Date Published | 2008 Apr |
ISSN | 1369-5274 |
Keywords | Amino Acid Sequence, Bacteria, Bacterial Proteins, Base Sequence, DNA-Binding Proteins, Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial, Molecular Sequence Data, Transcription, Genetic |
Abstract | H-NS, a nucleoid-associated DNA-binding protein of enteric bacteria, was discovered 35 years ago and subsequently found to exert widespread and highly pleiotropic effects on gene regulation. H-NS binds to high-affinity sites and spreads along adjacent AT-rich DNA to silence transcription. Preferential binding to sequences with higher AT-content than the resident genome allows H-NS to repress the expression of foreign DNA in a process known as 'xenogeneic silencing.' Counter-silencing by a variety of mechanisms facilitates the evolutionary acquisition of horizontally transferred genes and their integration into pre-existing regulatory networks. This review will highlight recent insights into the mechanism and biological importance of H-NS-DNA interactions. |
DOI | 10.1016/j.mib.2008.02.011 |
Alternate Journal | Curr. Opin. Microbiol. |
PubMed ID | 18387844 |
PubMed Central ID | PMC2394665 |
Grant List | AI39557 / AI / NIAID NIH HHS / United States AI44486 / AI / NIAID NIH HHS / United States AI48622 / AI / NIAID NIH HHS / United States R01 AI039557-10 / AI / NIAID NIH HHS / United States R01 AI044486-09 / AI / NIAID NIH HHS / United States R01 AI048622-06 / AI / NIAID NIH HHS / United States |