Expression of drgA gene encoding NAD(P)H:quinone-oxidoreductase in the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803

The gene drgA of the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 encoding soluble NAD(P)H:quinone-oxidoreductase is involved in NADPH oxidation and controls cell sensitivity to nitroaromatic inhibitors as well as resistance to the oxidative stress inducer menadione. The expression of drgA was analyzed by means of Northern blot hybridization and RT-PCR technique. Two transcripts, which gave a positive hybridization signal with a drgA probe were observed in photoautotrophycally grown cells. One of them (0.6 kb) corresponds in size to mRNA read from the drgA gene; another transcript (1.3 kb), to mRNA transcribed from two genes: drgA and slr1718 located upstream of drgA and having homology with genes of the family comB. The expression of genes drgA and slr1718 was repressed during cell incubation in the dark, but the addition of glucose led to a drastically enhanced expression both in the dark and after illumination of cells. Menadione or nitrophenolic herbicide dinoseb did not induce drgA or slr1718 expression. The results obtained suggest that the expression of these genes is regulated by the NADPH content in the cytoplasm of cyanobacterium cells.