Molecular analysis of the signaling pathway between EnvZ and OmpR in Escherichia coli.

OmpR is a DNA-binding protein that regulates transcription of ompF and ompC. The activity of OmpR is controlled by the inner membrane osmosensor, EnvZ. In order to study the signaling process between EnvZ and OmpR, we analyzed two different envZ strains: the envZ473 strain, in which OmpC is constitutively produced and OmpF is fully repressed, and the envZ3 strain, in which the production of OmpC is greatly reduced and OmpF is not fully repressed by high-osmolarity growth conditions. Using direct sequencing of DNA derived from the polymerase chain reaction amplification method, we identified the mutation in the envZ473 strain as a Val-241-to-Gly substitution and the mutation in the envZ3 as an Ala-219-to-Val substitution. The relative DNA-binding affinity of OmpR derived from the envZ473 strain was dramatically increased for the upstream sequence of both ompF and ompC. In contrast, OmpR derived from the envZ3 strain was not converted to the high-affinity form. The intracellular levels of OmpR-phosphate, as analyzed by the in vivo phosphorylation approach, significantly increased in the envZ473 strain, while in the envZ3 strain the levels were considerably reduced, relative to those found in the parent strain. The intracellular level of OmpR protein in the envZ473 strain was also found to be markedly elevated relative to that of the parent strain. These results are discussed in relation to the role of phosphorylation and relative DNA-binding affinity of OmpR in the expression of ompF and ompC.