What is it about?
This work discussed the likely molecular mechanisms required for a regulatory protein, NagR to control the expression of two genes (glmS and nagB) that are important for the degradation (nagB) as well as production (glmS) of glucosamine in dental pathogen Streptococcus mutans.
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Why is it important?
Metabolism of glucosamine is ubiquitous throughout the biosphere due to the requirement for synthesizing biological molecules as well as energy production. Representing a unique and biomedically-important group of bacteria, lactic acid bacteria (LAB), Streptococcus mutans depends on one regulator (NagR) for controlling both catabolism and biosynthesis of glucosamine. This study reveals some of the key features of this mechanism, which enable NagR to differentially regulate two opposing biological reactions in response to various metabolic signals.
Perspectives
Nature persistently amazes us in its ability to perform sophisticated tasks through simple and elegant mechanisms. As the two main targets of regulation by NagR, glmS and nagB each possess two binding sites for NagR upstream of their protein-coding sequences, yet the cells respond to the change in amino sugar signals by regulating their mRNA levels in exactly opposite directions. We believe the ability for NagR to perform the role of a "molecular traffic cop" resides in its capacity to respond to multiple cellular signals and recognizing the intrinsic, structural differences between its target promoters.
Dr Lin Zeng
University of Florida
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: NagR Differentially Regulates the Expression of theglmSandnagABGenes Required for Amino Sugar Metabolism by Streptococcus mutans, Journal of Bacteriology, August 2015, ASM Journals,
DOI: 10.1128/jb.00606-15.
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