Functional replacement of the oligomerization domain of H-NS by the Hha protein of Escherichia coli

Members of the H-NS family of proteins play a relevant role as modulators of gene expression in gram-negative bacteria. Interaction of these proteins with members of the Hha/YmoA family of proteins has been previously reported. It has been hypothesized that the latter proteins are functionally equivalent to the N-terminal domain of H-NS-like proteins. In this report we test this assumption by replacing the N-terminal domain of Escherichia coli H-NS by Hha. It has been possible to obtain a functional protein that can compensate for some of the hns-induced phenotypes. These results highlight the relevance of H-NS-Hha interactions to generate heterooligomeric complexes that modulate gene expression in gram-negative bacteria.