Identification of a cadmium-induced gene in Mycobacterium bovis and Mycobacterium tuberculosis

A 17-kDa protein (CadI) was induced by cadmium in Mycobacterium bovis and M ycobacterium tuberculosis. Comparison of the N-terminal sequence from M. bo vis CadI with the annotated M. tuberculosis genome database identified Rv26 41 as the encoding gene. Long and short promoter fragments from M. bovis ca dI were fused to the lacZ reporter gene in pYUB76. Only the long fragment d irected cadmium-inducible activity when electroporated into M. bovis. The c adI promoter has potential for both constitutive and inducible expression s tudies in M. bovis and M. tuberculosis. (C) 2001 Federation of European Mic robiological Societies. Published by Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reser ved.