| dc.description.abstract | In some prokaryotes, transcriptional regulator CarD stabilizes the open promoter complex
during transcription initiation. As both a transcriptional activator and repressor, CarD can be
used to coordinate gene expression to shape the transcriptome. CarD has also been previously
implicated in the stringent response signaling pathway, through which bacteria reprogram their
transcriptome to survive stress. Zymomonas mobili an ethanologenic bacteria with promise for
biofuel production contains CarD, but its effect on initiation and the stringent response in Z.
mobilis is unknown. To identify the role of CarD in Z. mobilis, we determined the genome-wide
distribution of CarD relative to other transcription machinery, performed growth and survival
assays during stringent response induction, and measured the effects of CarD and alarmone
ppGpp on rRNA expression. Our results revealed that CarD is not essential for growth in Z.
mobilis, but is important for ribosomal RNA biogenesis, relevant to both initiation and stringent
control. | en_US |
