The mll6786 gene encodes a repressor protein controlling the degradation pathway for vitamin B6 in Mesorhizobium loti

Abstract Pyridoxine is converted to succinic semialdehyde, acetate, ammonia and CO2 through the actions of eight enzymes. The genes encoding the enzymes occur as a cluster on the chromosomal DNA of Mesorhizobium loti, a symbiotic nitrogen-fixing bacterium. Here, it was found that disruption of the mll6786 gene, which is located between the genes encoding the first and eighth enzymes of the pathway, caused constitutive expression of the eight enzymes. The protein encoded by the mll6786 gene is a member of the GntR family and is designated as PyrR. PyrR comprises 223 amino acid residues and is a dimeric protein with a subunit molecular mass of 25; kDa. The purified PyrR with a C-terminal His6-tag could bind to an intergenic 67-bp DNA region, which contains a palindrome sequence and a deduced promoter sequence, between the mll6786 and mlr6787 genes, encoding PyrR and AAMS amidohydrolase, respectively.