PsrR, a member of the AraC family of transcriptional regulators, is required for the synthesis of Wolinella succinogenes polysulfide reductase

Wolinella succinogenes grows by polysulfide respiration with formate or hydrogen as electron donor. Polysulfide reduction is catalyzed by the membrane-bound polysulfide reductase complex encoded by the psrABC operon. An open reading frame, designated psrR, was found in close proximity upstream of the psr operon, but oriented in the opposite direction. The deduced amino acid sequence of PsrR is similar to those of transcriptional regulators of the AraC family and includes all typical features. Polysulfide reductase is not detectable in a Delta psrR deletion mutant of W. succinogenes. Mutant cells grown with fumarate as terminal electron acceptor did not catalyze polysulfide reduction with formate or hydrogen, in contrast to the wild-type strain. The phenotype of W. succinogenes wild-type cells was restored by genomic complementation of W. succinogenes Delta psrR. The results suggest that the gene product of psrR is involved in the regulation of polysulfide reductase synthesis.