SOS box

SOS box is the region in the promoter of various genes to which the LexA repressor binds to repress the transcription of SOS-induced proteins. This occurs in the absence of DNA damage. In the presence of DNA damage the binding of LexA is inactivated by the RecA activator. SOS boxes differ in DNA sequences and binding affinity towards LexA from organism to organism.[1] Furthermore, SOS boxes may be present in a dual fashion, which indicates that more than one SOS box can be within the same promoter.[2]

Examples

Phylogenetic Clade	Sequence	Reference
Alpha Proteobacteria	GAAC(N)7GAAC GTTC(N)7GTTC	[3][4]
Betaproteobacteria Gammaproteobacteria	CTGT(N)8ACAG	[5]
Deltaproteobacteria	CTRHAMRYBYGTTCAGS	[6]
Gram-positive Bacteria	CGAACRNRYGTTYC	[7][8]
Cyanobacteria	RGTAC(N)3DGTWCB	[9]

See Nucleic acid nomenclature for an explanation of non-GATC nucleotide letters

See also

• SOS response
• SOS gene
• LexA
• RecA

References

1. Walker, GC (October 1995). "SOS-regulated proteins in translesion DNA synthesis and mutagenesis". Trends in Biochemical Sciences. 20 (10): 416–20. doi:10.1016/s0968-0004(00)89091-x. PMID 8533155.
2. Gillor, Osnat; Vriezen, Jan A. C.; Riley, Margaret A. (Jun 2008). "The role of SOS boxes in enteric bacteriocin regulation". Microbiology. 154 (6): 1783–1792. doi:10.1099/mic.0.2007/016139-0. PMC 2729051. PMID 18524933.
3. Fernández de Henestrosa AR, Rivera E, Tapias A, Barbé J (June 1998). "Identification of the Rhodobacter sphaeroides SOS box". Mol. Microbiol. 28 (5): 991–1003. doi:10.1046/j.1365-2958.1998.00860.x. PMID 9663685.
4. Tapias A, Barbé J (August 1999). "Regulation of divergent transcription from the uvrA-ssb promoters in Sinorhizobium meliloti". Mol. Gen. Genet. 262 (1): 121–30. doi:10.1007/s004380051066. PMID 10503543.
5. Erill I, Escribano M, Campoy S, Barbé J (November 2003). "In silico analysis reveals substantial variability in the gene contents of the gamma proteobacteria LexA-regulon". Bioinformatics. 19 (17): 2225–36. doi:10.1093/bioinformatics/btg303. PMID 14630651.
6. Campoy S, Fontes M, Padmanabhan S, Cortés P, Llagostera M, Barbé J (August 2003). "LexA-independent DNA damage-mediated induction of gene expression in Myxococcus xanthus". Mol. Microbiol. 49 (3): 769–81. doi:10.1046/j.1365-2958.2003.03592.x. PMID 12864858.
7. Winterling KW, Chafin D, Hayes JJ, et al. (15 April 1998). "The Bacillus subtilis DinR Binding Site: Redefinition of the Consensus Sequence". J. Bacteriol. 180 (8): 2201–11. PMC 107149. PMID 9555905.
8. Davis EO, Dullaghan EM, Rand L (June 2002). "Definition of the Mycobacterial SOS Box and Use To Identify LexA-Regulated Genes in Mycobacterium tuberculosis". J. Bacteriol. 184 (12): 3287–95. doi:10.1128/JB.184.12.3287-3295.2002. PMC 135081. PMID 12029045.
9. Mazón G, Lucena JM, Campoy S, Fernández de Henestrosa AR, Candau P, Barbé J (February 2004). "LexA-binding sequences in Gram-positive and cyanobacteria are closely related". Mol. Genet. Genomics. 271 (1): 40–9. doi:10.1007/s00438-003-0952-x. PMID 14652736.

• Erill I, et al. (2004). "Differences in LexA regulon structure among Proteobacteria through in vivo assisted comparative genomics". Nucleic Acids Research. 32 (22): 6617–26. doi:10.1093/nar/gkh996. PMC 545464. PMID 15604457.
• Shinagawa H (1996). SOS response as an adaptive response to DNA damage in prokaryotes. EXS. 77. pp. 221–35. doi:10.1007/978-3-0348-9088-5_14. ISBN 978-3-0348-9901-7. PMID 8856977.