The LacI/GalR family transcriptional regulator UriR negatively controls uridine utilization of Corynebacterium glutamicum by binding to catabolite-responsive element (cre)-like sequences.

The Cg1547 protein of Corynebacterium glutamicum ATCC 13032 is a member of the LacI/GalR family of DNA-binding transcriptional regulators. A defined deletion in the cg1547 gene, now designated uriR (uridine utilization regulator), resulted in the mutant strain C. glutamicum KB1547. Comparison of gene expression levels in C. glutamicum KB1547 and the wild-type strain revealed enhanced expression of the uriR operon genes cg1546 (ribokinase), cg1545 (uridine transporter) and cg1543 (uridine-preferring nucleoside hydrolase). Gene expression of the uriR operon was stimulated by the presence of either uridine or ribose. Growth assays with C. glutamicum mutants showed that functional Cg1543 and Cg1545 proteins are essential for the utilization of uridine as the sole carbon source. Transcriptional regulation of the uriR operon is mediated by a 29 bp palindromic sequence composed of two catabolite-responsive element (cre)-like sequences and located in between the mapped -10 promoter region and the start codon of uriR. A similar cre sequence was detected in the upstream region of rbsK2 (cg2554), coding for a second ribokinase in C. glutamicum ATCC 13032. DNA band-shift assays with a streptavidin-tagged UriR protein and labelled oligonucleotides including the cre-like sequences of uriR and rbsK2 demonstrated the specific binding of the purified regulator in vitro. Whole-genome DNA microarray hybridizations comparing the gene expression in C. glutamicum KB1547 with that of the wild-type strain revealed that UriR is a pathway-specific repressor of genes involved in uridine utilization in C. glutamicum.