[Host factors in the regulation of the Vibrio fischeri lux operon in Escherichia coli cells].

It has been shown that the chaperonin GroEL, together with GroES co-chaperonin and Lon ATP-dependent protease are involved in the regulation of expression of the Vibrio fischeri lux operon in Escherichia coli cells. The cells of E. coli groE (pF1)- bearing a plasmid with the complete V. fischeri lux regulon were weakly luminescent. The cells of E. coli lonA (pF1) displayed intense bioluminescence. The same effects also occurred in mutant E. coli strains bearing a hybrid plasmid pVFR1, where the luxR gene and the regulatory region of the V. fischeri lux operon were inserted before the Photorhabdus luminescens luxCDABE cassette. The V. fischeri luxR gene was cloned in the pGEX-KG vector with the formation of a hybrid gene gst-luxR. It was shown that affinity chromatography of the product of expression, the chimeric protein GST-LuxR, on a column with glutathione-agarose resulted in its copurification with the proteins GroEL and Lon. Consequently, LuxR, the transcription activator of the lux operon, forms complexes with these proteins. It is supposed that GroEL/GroES is responsible for the folding of the LuxR protein, and Lon protease degrades the LuxR protein either before its folding into an active globule or at denaturing.