Direct Regulation of Extracellular Chitinase Production by the Transcription Factor LeClp in Lysobacter enzymogenes OH11

Lysobacter enzymogenes is a gram-negative bacterial biological control agent that produces abundant extracellular enzymes capable of degrading the cell walls of fungal pathogens. In strain OH11, an isolate from China, the global regulator LeClp controls the production of extracellular chitinase by regulating the transcription of the chitinase-encoding gene chiA. Using a combination of bioinformatic, genetic, and biochemical methods, we show that LeClp regulates chiA transcription by directly binding to the chiA promoter region. Although LeClp appears to be important in this role, it is not the sole regulator of chiA transcription. Furthermore, the sequence analysis of putative LeClp binding sites indicated that the LeClp homolog could be involved in the regulation of extracellular chitinase production in diverse Lysobacter spp. by a mechanism similar to that in L. enzymogenes. Our findings present new insights into the molecular mechanism of LeClp in controlling extracellular chitinase activity, providing a fundamental road to elucidate how LeClp regulates the production of other extracellular lytic enzymes in L enzymogenes.