Nitric oxide‐sensitive and ‐insensitive interaction of Bacillus subtilis NsrR with a ResDE‐controlled promoter

Summary NsrR is a nitric oxide (NO)-sensitive transcription repressor that controls NO metabolism in a wide range of bacteria. In Bacillus subtilis, NsrR represses transcription of the nitrite reductase (nasDEF) genes that are under positive control of the ResD–ResE two-component signal transduction system. Derepression is achieved by reaction of NO with NsrR. Unlike some NsrR orthologues that were shown to contain a NO-sensitive [2Fe–2S] cluster, B. subtilis NsrR, when purified anaerobically either from aerobic or from anaerobic Escherichia coli and B. subtilis cultures, contains a [4Fe–4S] cluster. [4Fe–4S]-NsrR binds around the −35 element of the nasD promoter with much higher affinity than apo-NsrR and binding of [4Fe–4S]-NsrR, but not apo-protein, is sensitive to NO. RNA polymerase and phosphorylated ResD make a ternary complex at the nasD promoter and NsrR dissociates the preformed ternary complex. In addition to the −35 region, NsrR binds to two distinct sites of the upstream regulatory region where ResD also binds. These interactions, unlike the high-affinity site binding, do not depend on the NsrR [4Fe–4S] cluster and binding is not sensitive to NO, suggesting a role for apo-NsrR in transcriptional regulation.