Cloning and characterization of linR, involved in regulation of the downstream pathway for gamma-hexachlorocyclohexane degradation in Sphingomonas paucimobilis UT26.

In Sphingomonas paucimobilis UT26, LinD and LinE activities, which are responsible for the degradation of gamma-hexachlorocyclohexane, are inducibly expressed in the presence of their substrates, 2,5-dichlorohydroquinone (2,5-DCHQ) and chlorohydroquinone (CHQ). The nucleotide sequence of the 1-kb upstream region of the linE gene was determined, and an open reading frame (ORF) was found in divergent orientation from linE. Because the putative protein product of the ORF showed similarity to the LysR-type transcriptional regulator (LTTR) family, we named it linR. The fragment containing the putative LTTR recognition sequence (a palindromic TN(11)A sequence), which exists immediately upstream of linE, was ligated with the reporter gene lacZ and was inserted into the plasmid expressing LinR under the control of the lac promoter. When the resultant plasmid was introduced into Escherichia coli, the LacZ activity rose in the presence of 2,5-DCHQ and CHQ. RNA slot blot analysis for the total RNAs of UT26 and UT102, which has an insertional mutation in linR, revealed that the expression of the linD and linE genes was induced in the presence of 2,5-DCHQ, CHQ, and hydroquinone in UT26 but not in UT102. These results indicated that the linR gene is directly involved in the inducible expression of the linD and linE genes.