Gene regulation in Lactococcus lactis: the gap between predicted and characterized regulators.

The genome sequence of Lactococcus lactis IL 1403 was previously determined with high quality, allowing a reliable determination of the potential ORFs present in the genome. It encodes 2310 proteins, and 138 of them were assigned as potential regulators, half of which being further classified by their similarity to known protein families. Among these regulators, most could have a direct role as transcriptional regulators, while the others may have less well defined functions in transcriptional regulation or more general functions, such as the GTP binding protein family. Current knowledge related to the regulators controlling gene expression in L. lactis will be confronted to data obtained in other bacteria. For example, comparison of the L. lactis regulators with those of B. subtilis reveals many orthologous regulators and also some clear differences in the type of regulator used in the two bacteria. Further comparison of the role and the effectors of orthologous regulators shows that direct transposition of a 'heterologous model' does not allow to build a reliable regulatory network in L. lactis. Moreover, many L. lactis regulators have functions that could not be proposed by transposition of the knowledge currently available in other bacteria. A considerable amount of work will be necessary to assess the function of L. lactis regulators and build a comprehensive model of the regulatory network. This would provide invaluable information on L. lactis biology and the way this bacterium interacts with the environment.