A single simian virus 40 late replacement vector which expresses both the rev and envelope (env) genes of human immunodeficiency virus was used to examine the mechanism underlying the dependence of env gene expression on the rev protein. When rev was deleted from the vector, no envelope protein expression could be detected in transfected cells, and the levels of cytoplasmic env mRNA were dramatically reduced. In contrast to this, the levels of env RNA in total cellular RNA preparations were similar with or without rev coexpression, and analysis of nuclear RNA showed that the levels of nuclear env RNA were increased in the absence of rev. These results suggest that rev functions to regulate nuclear export of env mRNA. It was possible to restore env expression from the vector lacking rev by supplying rev in trans, provided that a cis-acting sequence was also present. This sequence was mapped to a 854-base-pair region within the env open reading frame, and it was shown that the sequence could be moved but that it worked only in its original orientation.

SummaryThe Irr protein from the bacterium Bradyrhizobium japonicum is expressed under iron limitation to mediate iron control of haem biosynthesis. The regulatory input to Irr is the status of haem and its precursors iron and protoporphyrin at the site of haem synthesis. Here, we show that Irr controls the expression of iron transport genes and many other iron-regulated genes not directly involved in haem synthesis. Irr is both a positive and negative effector of gene expression, and in at least some cases the control is direct. Loss of normal iron responsiveness of those genes in an irr mutant, as well as a lower total cellular iron content, suggests that Irr is required for the correct perception of the cellular iron status. Degradation of Irr in iron replete cells requires haem. Accordingly, control of Irr-regulated genes by iron was aberrant in a haem-defective strain, and iron replete mutant cells behave as if they are iron-limited. In addition, the haem mutant had an abnormally high cellular iron content. The findings indicate that B. japonicum senses iron via the status of haem biosynthesis in an Irr-dependent manner to regulate iron homeostasis and metabolism.

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Dinucleotide repeat DNA with the pattern (GA)n/(TC)n, so-called GAGA elements, control gene expression in animals, and are recognized by a specific regulatory protein. Here, a yeast one-hybrid screen was used to isolate soybean (Glycine max) cDNA encoding a GAGA-binding protein (GBP) that binds to (GA)n/(CT)nDNA. Soybean GBP was dissimilar from the GAGA factor ofDrosophila melanogaster. Recombinant GBP protein did not bind to dinucleotide repeat sequences other than (GA)n/(CT)n. GBP bound to the promoter of the heme and chlorophyll synthesis gene Gsa1, which contains a GAGA element. Removal of that GAGA element abrogated binding of GBP to the promoter. Furthermore, insertion of the GAGA element to a nonspecific DNA conferred GBP-binding activity on that DNA. Thus, the GAGA element of the Gsa1 promoter is both necessary and sufficient for GBP binding. Gbp mRNA was expressed in leaves and was induced in symbiotic root nodules elicited by the bacterium Bradyrhizobium japonicum. In addition,Gbp transcripts were much higher in leaves of dark-treated etiolated plantlets than in those exposed to light for 24 h. Homologs of GBP were found in other dicots and in the monocot rice (Oryza sativa), as well. We suggest that interaction between GAGA elements and GBP-like proteins is a regulatory feature in plants.

Oxygen-dependent growth of the Bradyrhizobium japonicum hemA mutant MLG1 (M.L. Guerinot and B.K. Chelm, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 83:1837-1841, 1986) was demonstrated in cultured cells in the absence of exogenous delta-aminolevulinic acid (ALA), but growth of analogous mutants of Rhizobium meliloti or of Escherichia coli was not observed unless ALA was added to the yeast extract-containing media. No heme could be detected in extracts of strain MLG1 cells as measured by the absorption or by the peroxidase activity of the heme moiety, but the rates of growth and endogenous respiration of the mutant were essentially identical to those found in the parent strain. A role for ALA in the viability of strain MLG1 could not be ruled out since the ALA analog levulinic acid inhibited growth, but neither ALA synthase nor glutamate-dependent ALA synthesis activity was found in the mutant. The data show that the cytochromes normally discerned in wild-type B. japonicum cultured cells by absorption spectroscopy are not essential for aerobic growth or respiration.