Expression analysis of the nrdHIEF operon from Escherichia coli. Conditions that trigger the transcript level in vivo.

Escherichia coli has two aerobic ribonucleotide reductases encoded by the nrdAB and nrdHIEF operons. While NrdAB is active during aerobiosis, NrdEF is considered a cryptic enzyme with no obvious function. Here, we present evidence that nrdHIEF expression might be important under certain circumstances. Basal transcript levels were dramatically enhanced (25-75-fold), depending on the growth-phase and the growth-medium composition. Likewise, a large increase of >100-fold in nrdHIEF mRNA was observed in bacteria lacking Trx1 and Grx1, the two main NrdAB reductants. Moreover, nrdHIEF expression was triggered in response to oxidative stress, particularly in mutants missing hydroperoxidase I and alkyl-hydroperoxide reductase activities (69.7-fold) and in cells treated with oxidants (up to 23.4-fold over the enhanced transcript level possessed by cells grown on minimal medium). The mechanism(s) that triggers nrdHIEF expression remains unknown, but our findings exclude putative global regulators like RpoS, Fis, cAMP, OxyR, SoxR/S, or RecA. What we have learned about nrdHIEF expression indicates strong differences between its regulation and that of the nrdAB operon and of genes coding for components of both thioredoxin/glutaredoxin pathways. We propose that E. coli might optimize the responses to different stimuli by co-evolving the expression levels for its multiple reductases and electron donors.