Phenazine-1-carboxylic acid is negatively regulated and pyoluteorin positively regulated by gacA in Pseudomonas sp. M18

The biosynthesis of antimicrobial metabolites is controlled by the GacS/GacA two-component regulatory system in Pseudomonas species. The production of phenazine-1-carboxylic acid and pyoluteorin is differentially regulated by GacA in Pseudomonas sp. M18. Pyoluteorin was reduced to nondetectable level in culture of the gacA insertional mutant strain M18G grown in King's medium B broth, whereas phenazine-1-carboxylic acid production was increased 30-fold over that of the wild-type strain. Production of both antibiotics was restored to wild-type levels after complementation in trans with the wild-type gacA gene. Expression of the translational fusions phzA'-'lacZ and pltA'-'lacZ confirmed the effect of GacA on both biosynthetic operons.