The transcriptional activator HIyU of Vibrio cholerae: nucleotide sequence and role in virulence gene expression

HlyU upregulates expression of the haemolysin, HlyA, of Vibrio cholerae. DNA sequence analysis indicates that HlyU is an 11.9 kDa protein containing a putative helix-turn-helix motif and belonging to a family of small regulatory proteins, including NoIR (Rhizobium meliloti), SmtB (Synechococcus PCC 7942) and ArsR (plasmids R773, Escherichia coli; pI258, Staphylococcus aureus; and pSX267, Staphylococcus xylosus). An hlyU mutant was constructed by insertional inactivation, and found to be deficient in the production of both the haemolysin and a 28 kDa secreted protein. The mutant was assessed for virulence in the infant mouse cholera model, revealing a 100-fold increase in the LD50. This suggests that HlyU promotes expression of virulence determinant(s) in vivo.