PmrA, an OmpR/PhoB-family response regulator, activates gene transcription responsible for polymyxin resistance in bacteria by recognizing promoters in which the canonical -35 element is replaced by the pmra-box, representing the PmrA recognition sequence. Here, we report a cryo-electron microscopy-derived structure of a bacterial PmrA-dependent transcription activation complex (TAC) containing a PmrA dimer, an RNA polymerase σ70-holoenzyme (RNAPH), and the pbgP promoter DNA. Our structure reveals that the RNAPH mainly contacts the PmrA C-terminal DNA binding domain (DBD) via electrostatic interactions and reorients the DBD three base pairs upstream of the pmra-box, resulting in a dynamic TAC conformation. In vivo assays show that substitution of PmrA DNA-recognition residues eliminated its transcriptional activity, but variants with altered RNAPH-interacting residues exhibited elevated transcriptional activity. Our study indicates that both PmrA recognition-induced DNA distortion and PmrA promoter escape play important roles in its transcriptional activation.

In class II transcription activation, the transcription factor normally binds to the promoter near the −35 position and contacts the domain 4 of σ factors (σ4) to activate transcription. However, σ4 of σ70 appears to be poorly folded on its own. Here, by fusing σ4 with the RNA polymerase β‐flap‐tip‐helix, we constructed two σ4 chimera proteins, one from σ70 ()σ470normalc and another from σS ()σ4Snormalc of Klebsiella pneumoniae. The two chimera proteins well folded into a monomeric form with strong binding affinities for −35 element DNA. Determining the crystal structure of σ4Snormalc in complex with −35 element DNA revealed that σ4Snormalc adopts a similar structure as σ4 in the Escherichia coli RNA polymerase σS holoenzyme and recognizes −35 element DNA specifically by several conserved residues from the helix‐turn‐helix motif. By using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), σ470normalc was demonstrated to recognize −35 element DNA similar to σ4Snormalc. Carr‐Purcell‐Meiboom‐Gill relaxation dispersion analyses showed that the N‐terminal helix and the β‐flap‐tip‐helix of σ470normalc have a concurrent transient α‐helical structure and DNA binding reduced the slow dynamics on σ470normalc. Finally, only σ470normalc was shown to interact with the response regulator PmrA and its promoter DNA. The chimera proteins are capable of −35 element DNA recognition and can be used for study with transcription factors or other factors that interact with domain 4 of σ factors.