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The rggC locus, with a frameshift mutation, is involved in oxidative stress response by Streptococcus thermophilus

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Abstract

In Streptococcus thermophilus, the locus rggC contains a frameshift mutation and thus consists of two open reading frames (ORFs), rggC 1 and rggC 2, which encode proteins exhibiting similarity with the Rgg transcriptional regulator family. In this work, mutants showing a partial deletion of rggC 1 and rggC 2 were constructed and their response to menadione, a superoxide-generating compound, was analysed. These mutants exhibited different behaviour to this oxidative stress compared with the wild-type strain. Analysis of this locus among 21 strains of S. thermophilus showed a polythymine tract length variability and a strain-dependant adenine residue could be found upstream of this repeat. This interstrain polymorphism supports evidence for the hypothesis that the rggC locus is phase variable.

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Acknowledgments

Annabelle Fernandez was supported by grants from the Ministère de la recherche. Frédéric Borges was supported by a grant from the Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique. We are grateful to Arran Johnson for his advice regarding the English formulation of the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratoire de Génétique et Microbiologie, UMR INRA 1128, IFR 110, Faculté des Sciences et Techniques de l’Université Henri Poincaré, Campus de Grignard, BP239, 54506, Vandœuvre-lès-Nancy, France

    Annabelle Fernandez, Frédéric Borges, Brigitte Gintz, Bernard Decaris & Nathalie Leblond-Bourget

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  1. Annabelle Fernandez
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  2. Frédéric Borges
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  3. Brigitte Gintz
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  4. Bernard Decaris
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  5. Nathalie Leblond-Bourget
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Correspondence to Nathalie Leblond-Bourget.

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Fernandez, A., Borges, F., Gintz, B. et al. The rggC locus, with a frameshift mutation, is involved in oxidative stress response by Streptococcus thermophilus . Arch Microbiol 186, 161–169 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00203-006-0130-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00203-006-0130-8

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