Regulation of Sinorhizobium meliloti 1021 rrnA-reporter gene fusions in response to cold shock

We previously reported that mutants of Sinorhizobium meliloti 1021 carrying luxAB insertions in each of the three 16S rRNA genes exhibited a dramatic (> or = 28-fold) increase in luminescence following a temperature downshift from 30 to 15 degrees C. These results raised the possibility that the rRNA operons (rrn) of S. meliloti were cold shock loci. In testing this possibility, we found that fusion of the S. meliloti 1021 rrnA promoter to two different reporter genes, luxAB and uidA, resulted in hybrid genes that were transiently upregulated (as measured by transcript accumulation) about four- to sixfold in response to a temperature downshift. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that the rrn promoters are transiently upregulated in response to cold shock. However, much of the apparent cold shock regulation of the initial luxAB insertions was due to an unexpected mechanism: an apparent temperature-dependent inhibition of translation. Specifically, the rrnA sequences from +1 to +172 (relative to the start of transcription) were found to greatly decrease the ability of S. meliloti to translate hybrid rrn-luxAB transcripts into active protein at 30 degrees C. This effect, however, was largely eliminated at 15 degrees C. Possible mechanisms for the apparent transient increase in rrnA promoter activity and temperature-dependent inhibition of translation are discussed.