The fnr Gene of Bacillus licheniformis and the Cysteine Ligands of the C-Terminal FeS Cluster

Many of the O2-responsive gene regulators of bacteria are members of the fumarate nitrate reductase-cyclic AMP receptor protein family of transcriptional regulators (12, 13, 15, 17) with predicted structures similar to those of the cyclic AMP receptor protein (11). The Fnr (stands for fumarate nitrate reductase regulator) protein from Escherichia coli (FnrEc) controls the expression of a variety of genes, mainly of anaerobic respiration and metabolism (5, 13). It contains a N-terminal cluster of three essential cysteine residues which are supposed to bind together with Cys122 a [4Fe 4S]2+ cluster which is required for O2 sensing (4, 7, 8, 10, 16). A wide variety of gram-negative bacteria co…