Bacteria employ lysine acetylation of transcriptional regulators to adapt gene expression to cellular metabolism.

The Escherichia coli TetR-related transcriptional regulator RutR is involved in the coordination of pyrimidine and purine metabolism. Here we report that lysine acetylation modulates RutR function. Applying the genetic code expansion concept, we produced site-specifically lysine-acetylated RutR proteins. The crystal structure of lysine-acetylated RutR reveals how acetylation switches off RutR-DNA-binding. We apply the genetic code expansion concept in E. coli in vivo revealing the consequences of RutR acetylation on the transcriptional level. We propose a model in which RutR acetylation follows different kinetic profiles either reacting non-enzymatically with acetyl-phosphate or enzymatically catalysed by the lysine acetyltransferases PatZ/YfiQ and YiaC. The NAD+-dependent sirtuin deacetylase CobB reverses enzymatic and non-enzymatic acetylation of RutR playing a dual regulatory and detoxifying role. By detecting cellular acetyl-CoA, NAD+ and acetyl-phosphate, bacteria apply lysine acetylation of transcriptional regulators to sense the cellular metabolic state directly adjusting gene expression to changing environmental conditions.

High Abundance of Transcription Regulators Compacts the Nucleoid in Escherichia coli.

In enteric bacteria organization of the circular chromosomal DNA into a highly dynamic and toroidal-shaped nucleoid involves various factors, such as DNA supercoiling, nucleoid-associated proteins (NAPs), the structural maintenance of chromatin (SMC) complex, and macrodomain organizing proteins. Here, we show that ectopic expression of transcription regulators at high levels leads to nucleoid compaction. This serendipitous result was obtained by fluorescence microscopy upon ectopic expression of the transcription regulator and phosphodiesterase PdeL of Escherichia coli. Nucleoid compaction by PdeL depends on DNA-binding, but not on its enzymatic phosphodiesterase activity. Nucleoid compaction was also observed upon high-level ectopic expression of the transcription regulators LacI, RutR, RcsB, LeuO, and Cra, which range from single-target gene regulators to global regulators. In the case of LacI, its high-level expression in the presence of the gratuitous inducer IPTG (isopropyl-ß-d-thiogalactopyranoside) also led to nucleoid compaction, indicating that compaction is caused by unspecific DNA-binding. In all cases nucleoid compaction correlated with misplacement of the FtsZ ring and loss of MukB foci, a subunit of the SMC complex. Thus, high levels of several transcription regulators cause nucleoid compaction with consequences for replication and cell division. IMPORTANCE The bacterial nucleoid is a highly organized and dynamic structure for simultaneous transcription, replication, and segregation of the bacterial genome. Compaction of the nucleoid and disturbance of DNA segregation and cell division by artificially high levels of transcription regulators, as described here, reveals that an excess of DNA-binding protein disturbs nucleoid structuring. The results suggest that ectopic expression levels of DNA-binding proteins for genetic studies of their function but also for their purification should be carefully controlled and adjusted.

Deletion of FRT-sites by no-SCAR recombineering in Escherichia coli.

Lambda-Red recombineering is the most commonly used method to create point mutations, insertions or deletions in Escherichia coli and other bacteria, but usually an Flp recognition target (FRT) scar-site is retained in the genome. Alternative scarless recombineering methods, including CRISPR/Cas9-assisted methods, generally require cloning steps and/or complex PCR schemes for specific targeting of the genome. Here we describe the deletion of FRT scar-sites by the scarless Cas9-assisted recombineering method no-SCAR using an FRT-specific guide RNA, sgRNAFRT, and locus-specific ssDNA oligonucleotides. We applied this method to construct a scarless E. coli strain suitable for gradual induction by l-arabinose. Genome sequencing of the resulting strain and its parent strains demonstrated that no additional mutations were introduced along with the simultaneous deletion of two FRT scar-sites. The FRT-specific no-SCAR selection by sgRNAFRT/Cas9 may be generally applicable to cure FRT scar-sites of E. coli strains constructed by classical λ-Red recombineering.

The transcription regulator and c-di-GMP phosphodiesterase PdeL represses motility in Escherichia coli.

PdeL is a transcription regulator and catalytically active c-di-GMP phosphodiesterases (PDE) in Escherichia coli PdeL has been shown to be a transcription autoregulator, while no other target genes have been identified so far. Here, we show that PdeL represses transcription of the flagella class II operon, fliFGHIJK, and activates sslE encoding an extracellular anchored metalloprotease, among additional loci. DNA-binding studies and expression analyses using plasmidic reporters suggest that regulation of the fliF and sslE promoters by PdeL is direct. Transcription repression of the fliFGHIJK operon, encoding protein required for assembly of the flagellar basal body, results in inhibition of motility on soft agar plates and reduction of flagella assembly, as shown by fluorescence staining of the flagella hook protein FlgE. PdeL-mediated repression of motility is independent of its phosphodiesterase activity. Thus, in motility control the transcription regulator function of PdeL reducing the number of assembled flagella is apparently epistatic to its phosphodiesterase function, which can indirectly promote the activity of the flagellar motor by lowering the c-di-GMP concentration.Bacteria adopt different lifestyles depending on their environment and physiological condition. In Escherichia coli and other enteric bacteria the transition between the motile and the sessile state is controlled at multiple levels from the regulation of gene expression to the modulation of various processes by the second messenger c-di-GMP as signaling molecule. The significance of our research is in identifying PdeL, a protein of dual function that hydrolyzes c-di-GMP and that regulates transcription of genes, as a repressor of Flagella gene expression and an inhibitor of motility, which adds an additional regulatory switch to the control of motility.

Characterization of the pleiotropic LysR-type transcription regulator LeuO of Escherichia coli.

LeuO is a pleiotropic LysR-type transcriptional regulator (LTTR) and co-regulator of the abundant nucleoid-associated repressor protein H-NS in Gammaproteobacteria. As other LTTRs, LeuO is a tetramer that is formed by dimerization of the N-terminal DNA-binding domain (DBD) and C-terminal effector-binding domain (EBD). To characterize the Escherichia coli LeuO protein, we screened for LeuO mutants that activate the cas (CRISPR-associated/Cascade) promoter more effectively than wild-type LeuO. This yielded nine mutants carrying amino acid substitutions in the dimerization interface of the regulatory EBD, as shown by solving the EBD's crystal structure. Superimposing of the crystal structures of LeuO-EBD and LeuO-S120D-EBD suggests that the Ser120 to Asp substitution triggers a structural change that is related to effector-induced structural changes of LTTRs. Corresponding functional analyses demonstrated that LeuO-S120D has a higher DNA-binding affinity than wild-type LeuO. Further, a palindromic DNA-binding core-site and a consensus sequence were identified by DNase I footprinting with LeuO-S120D as well as with the dimeric DBD. The data suggest that LeuO-S120D mimics an effector-induced form of LeuO regulating a distinct set of target loci. In general, constitutive mutants and determining the DNA-binding specificity of the DBD-dimer are feasible approaches to characterize LTTRs of unknown function.

Genetic Approaches to Study the Interplay Between Transcription and Nucleoid-Associated Proteins in Escherichia coli.

Bacterial nucleoid-associated proteins are important in nucleoid-structuring, homeostasis of DNA supercoiling, and in regulation of transcription. Vice versa, transcription influences DNA supercoiling and possibly DNA-binding of nucleoid-associated proteins. Here, I describe genetic tools to study the interplay between transcription and nucleoid-associated proteins such as H-NS in Escherichia coli. These standard methods include construction of genomic promoter reporter gene fusions to study regulation of promoters, genome insertion of promoter cassettes to drive expression of a gene of interest, and construction of isogenic hns mutants and precautions when doing so.

Interference of transcription across H-NS binding sites and repression by H-NS.

Nucleoid-associated protein H-NS represses transcription by forming extended DNA-H-NS complexes. Repression by H-NS operates mostly at the level of transcription initiation. Less is known about how DNA-H-NS complexes interfere with transcription elongation. In vitro H-NS has been shown to enhance RNA polymerase pausing and to promote Rho-dependent termination, while in vivo inhibition of Rho resulted in a decrease of the genome occupancy by H-NS. Here we show that transcription directed across H-NS binding regions relieves H-NS (and H-NS/StpA) mediated repression of promoters in these regions. Further, we observed a correlation of transcription across the H-NS-bound region and de-repression. The data suggest that the transcribing RNA polymerase is able to remodel the H-NS complex and/or dislodge H-NS from the DNA and thus relieve repression. Such an interference of transcription and H-NS mediated repression may imply that poorly transcribed AT-rich loci are prone to be repressed by H-NS, while efficiently transcribed loci escape repression.

Activation of leuO by LrhA in Escherichia coli.

LeuO is a conserved LysR-type transcription factor of pleiotropic function in Enterobacteria. Regulation of the leuO gene has been best studied in Escherichia coli and Salmonella enterica. Its expression is silenced by the nucleoid-associated proteins H-NS and StpA, autoregulated by LeuO, and in E. coli activated by the transcription regulator BglJ-RcsB. However, signals which induce leuO expression remain unknown. Here we show that LrhA, a conserved LysR-type transcription regulator, activates leuO in E. coli. LrhA specifically binds the leuO regulatory region and activates expression of leuO from three promoters. Activation of leuO by LrhA is synergistic with activation by BglJ-RcsB, while co-regulation by LrhA, LeuO and H-NS/StpA suggests a complex regulatory interplay. In addition, hyperactive LrhA mutants including LrhA-12DN, 221TA, 61HR/221TA and 303DG were identified. Regulation of leuO by LrhA reveals a connection between the two pleiotropic regulators LeuO and LrhA in E. coli.

Correlation of Antagonistic Regulation of leuO Transcription with the Cellular Levels of BglJ-RcsB and LeuO in Escherichia coli.

LeuO is a conserved and pleiotropic transcription regulator, antagonist of the nucleoid-associated silencer protein H-NS, and important for pathogenicity and multidrug resistance in Enterobacteriaceae. Regulation of transcription of the leuO gene is complex. It is silenced by H-NS and its paralog StpA, and it is autoregulated. In addition, in Escherichia coli leuO is antagonistically regulated by the heterodimeric transcription regulator BglJ-RcsB and by LeuO. BglJ-RcsB activates leuO, while LeuO inhibits activation by BglJ-RcsB. Furthermore, LeuO activates expression of bglJ, which is likewise H-NS repressed. Mutual activation of leuO and bglJ resembles a double-positive feedback network, which theoretically can result in bi-stability and heterogeneity, or be maintained in a stable OFF or ON states by an additional signal. Here we performed quantitative and single-cell expression analyses to address the antagonistic regulation and feedback control of leuO transcription by BglJ-RcsB and LeuO using a leuO promoter mVenus reporter fusion and finely tunable bglJ and leuO expression plasmids. The data revealed uniform regulation of leuO expression in the population that correlates with the relative cellular concentration of BglJ and LeuO. The data are in agreement with a straightforward model of antagonistic regulation of leuO expression by the two regulators, LeuO and BglJ-RcsB, by independent mechanisms. Further, the data suggest that at standard laboratory growth conditions feedback regulation of leuO is of minor relevance and that silencing of leuO and bglJ by H-NS (and StpA) keeps these loci in the OFF state.

Single-cell characterization of metabolic switching in the sugar phosphotransferase system of Escherichia coli.

The utilization of several sugars in Escherichia coli is regulated by the Phosphotransferase System (PTS), in which diverse sugar utilization modules compete for phosphoryl flux from the general PTS proteins. Existing theoretical work predicts a winner-take-all outcome when this flux limits carbon uptake. To date, no experimental work has interrogated competing PTS uptake modules with single-cell resolution. Using time-lapse microscopy in perfused microchannels, we analyzed the competition between N-acetyl-glucosamine and sorbitol, as representative PTS sugars, by measuring both the expression of their utilization systems and the concomitant impact of sugar utilization on growth rates. We find two distinct regimes: hierarchical usage of the carbohydrates, and co-expression of the genes for both systems. Simulations of a mathematical model incorporating asymmetric sugar quality reproduce our metabolic phase diagram, indicating that under conditions of nonlimiting phosphate flux, co-expression is due to uncoupling of both sugar utilization systems. Our model reproduces hierarchical winner-take-all behaviour and stochastic co-expression, and predicts the switching between both strategies as a function of available phosphate flux. Hence, experiments and theory both suggest that PTS sugar utilization involves not only switching between the sugars utilized but also switching of utilization strategies to accommodate prevailing environmental conditions.

Interaction of the RcsB Response Regulator with Auxiliary Transcription Regulators in Escherichia coli.

The Rcs phosphorelay is a two-component signal transduction system that is induced by cell envelope stress. RcsB, the response regulator of this signaling system, is a pleiotropic transcription regulator, which is involved in the control of various stress responses, cell division, motility, and biofilm formation. RcsB regulates transcription either as a homodimer or together with auxiliary regulators, such as RcsA, BglJ, and GadE in Escherichia coli. In this study, we show that RcsB in addition forms heterodimers with MatA (also known as EcpR) and with DctR. Our data suggest that the MatA-dependent transcription regulation is mediated by the MatA-RcsB heterodimer and is independent of RcsB phosphorylation. Furthermore, we analyzed the relevance of amino acid residues of the active quintet of conserved residues, and of surface-exposed residues for activity of RcsB. The data suggest that the activity of the phosphorylation-dependent dimers, such as RcsA-RcsB and RcsB-RcsB, is affected by mutation of residues in the vicinity of the phosphorylation site, suggesting that a phosphorylation-induced structural change modulates their activity. In contrast, the phosphorylation-independent heterodimers BglJ-RcsB and MatA-RcsB are affected by only very few mutations. Heterodimerization of RcsB with various auxiliary regulators and their differential dependence on phosphorylation add an additional level of control to the Rcs system that is operating at the output level.

YjjQ Represses Transcription of flhDC and Additional Loci in Escherichia coli.

UNLABELLED: The presumptive transcriptional regulator YjjQ has been identified as being virulence associated in avian pathogenic Escherichia coli (APEC). In this work, we characterize YjjQ as transcriptional repressor of the flhDC operon, encoding the master regulator of flagellar synthesis, and of additional loci. The latter include gfc (capsule 4 synthesis), ompC (outer membrane porin C), yfiRNB (regulated c-di-GMP synthesis), and loci of poorly defined function (ybhL and ymiA-yciX). We identify the YjjQ DNA-binding sites at the flhDC and gfc promoters and characterize a DNA-binding sequence motif present at all promoters found to be repressed by YjjQ. At the flhDC promoter, the YjjQ DNA-binding site overlaps the RcsA-RcsB DNA-binding site. RcsA-RcsB likewise represses the flhDC promoter, but the repression by YjjQ and that by RcsA-RcsB are independent of each other. These data suggest that YjjQ is an additional regulator involved in the complex control of flhDC at the level of transcription initiation. Furthermore, we show that YjjQ represses motility of the E. coli K-12 laboratory strain and of uropathogenic E. coli (UPEC) strains CFT073 and 536. Regulation of flhDC, yfiRNB, and additional loci by YjjQ may be features relevant for pathogenicity. IMPORTANCE: Escherichia coli is a commensal and pathogenic bacterium causing intra- and extraintestinal infections in humans and farm animals. The pathogenicity of E. coli strains is determined by their particular genome content, which includes essential and associated virulence factors that control the cellular physiology in the host environment. However, the gene pools of commensal and pathogenic E. coli are not clearly differentiated, and the function of virulence-associated loci needs to be characterized. In this study, we characterize the function of yjjQ, encoding a transcription regulator that was identified as being virulence associated in avian pathogenic E. coli (APEC). We characterize YjjQ as transcriptional repressor of flagellar motility and of additional loci related to pathogenicity.

Amount of colicin release in Escherichia coli is regulated by lysis gene expression of the colicin E2 operon.

The production of bacteriocins in response to worsening environmental conditions is one means of bacteria to outcompete other microorganisms. Colicins, one class of bacteriocins in Escherichia coli, are effective against closely related Enterobacteriaceae. Current research focuses on production, release and uptake of these toxins by bacteria. However, little is known about the quantitative aspects of these dynamic processes. Here, we quantitatively study expression dynamics of the Colicin E2 operon in E. coli on a single cell level using fluorescence time-lapse microscopy. DNA damage, triggering SOS response leads to the heterogeneous expression of this operon including the cea gene encoding the toxin, Colicin E2, and the cel gene coding for the induction of cell lysis and subsequent colicin release. Advancing previous whole population investigations, our time-lapse experiments reveal that at low exogenous stress levels all cells eventually respond after a given time (heterogeneous timing). This heterogeneous timing is lost at high stress levels, at which a synchronized stress response of all cells 60 min after induction via stress can be observed. We further demonstrate, that the amount of colicin released is dependent on cel (lysis) gene expression, independent of the applied exogenous stress level. A heterogeneous response in combination with heterogeneous timing can be biologically significant. It might enable a bacterial population to endure low stress levels, while at high stress levels an immediate and synchronized population wide response can give single surviving cells of the own species the chance to take over the bacterial community after the stress has ceased.

Transcriptional regulation by BglJ-RcsB, a pleiotropic heteromeric activator in Escherichia coli.

The bacterial Rcs phosphorelay signals perturbations of the bacterial cell envelope to its response regulator RcsB, which regulates transcription of multiple loci related to motility, biofilm formation and various stress responses. RcsB is unique, as its set of target loci is modulated by interaction with auxiliary regulators including BglJ. The BglJ-RcsB heteromer is known to activate the HNS repressed leuO and bgl loci independent of RcsB phosphorylation. Here, we show that BglJ-RcsB activates the promoters of 10 additional loci (chiA, molR, sfsB, yecT, yqhG, ygiZ, yidL, ykiA, ynbA and ynjI). Furthermore, we mapped the BglJ-RcsB binding site at seven loci and propose a consensus sequence motif. The data suggest that activation by BglJ-RcsB is DNA phasing dependent at some loci, a feature reminiscent of canonical transcriptional activators, while at other loci BglJ-RcsB activation may be indirect by inhibition of HNS-mediated repression. In addition, we show that BglJ-RcsB activates transcription of bgl synergistically with CRP where it shifts the transcription start by 20 bp from a position typical for class I CRP-dependent promoters to a position typical for class II CRP-dependent promoters. Thus, BglJ-RcsB is a pleiotropic transcriptional activator that coordinates regulation with global regulators including CRP, LeuO and HNS.

RcsB-BglJ-mediated activation of Cascade operon does not induce the maturation of CRISPR RNAs in E. coli K12.

Prokaryotic immunity against foreign nucleic acids mediated by clustered, regularly interspaced, short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) depends on the expression of the CRISPR-associated (Cas) proteins and the formation of small CRISPR RNAs (crRNAs). The crRNA-loaded Cas ribonucleoprotein complexes convey the specific recognition and inactivation of target nucleic acids. In E. coli K12, the maturation of crRNAs and the interference with target DNA is performed by the Cascade complex. The transcription of the Cascade operon is tightly repressed through H-NS-dependent inhibition of the Pcas promoter. Elevated levels of the LysR-type regulator LeuO induce the Pcas promoter and concomitantly activate the CRISPR-mediated immunity against phages. Here, we show that the Pcas promoter can also be induced by constitutive expression of the regulator BglJ. This activation is LeuO-dependent as heterodimers of BglJ and RcsB activate leuO transcription. Each transcription factor, LeuO or BglJ, induced the transcription of the Cascade genes to comparable amounts. However, the maturation of the crRNAs was activated in LeuO but not in BglJ-expressing cells. Studies on CRISPR promoter activities, transcript stabilities, crRNA processing and Cascade protein levels were performed to answer the question why crRNA maturation is defective in BglJ-expressing cells. Our results demonstrate that the activation of Cascade gene transcription is necessary but not sufficient to turn on the CRISPR-mediated immunity and suggest a more complex regulation of the type I-E CRISPR-Cas system in E. coli.

RcsB-BglJ activates the Escherichia coli leuO gene, encoding an H-NS antagonist and pleiotropic regulator of virulence determinants.

The LysR-type transcription factor LeuO is involved in regulation of pathogenicity determinants and stress responses in Enterobacteriaceae, and acts as antagonist of the global repressor H-NS. Expression of the leuO gene is repressed by H-NS, and it is upregulated in stationary phase and under amino acid starvation conditions. Here, we show that the heterodimer of the FixJ/NarL-type transcription regulators RcsB and BglJ strongly activates expression of leuO and that RcsB-BglJ regulates additional loci. Activation of leuO by RcsB-BglJ is independent of the Rcs phosphorelay system. RcsB-BglJ binds to the leuO promoter region and activates one of two leuO promoters mapped in vivo. Moreover, LeuO antagonizes activation of leuO by RcsB-BglJ and acts as negative autoregulator in vivo and in vitro. Further, the H-NS paralogue StpA causes repression of leuO in addition to H-NS. Together, our data suggest a complex arrangement of regulatory elements and they indicate a feedback control mechanism of leuO expression.

RNase III initiates rapid degradation of proU mRNA upon hypo-osmotic stress in Escherichia coli.

Hyper-osmotic stress strongly induces expression of the Escherichia coli proU operon encoding a high affinity uptake system for the osmoprotectants glycine betaine and proline betaine. Osmoregulation of proU takes place at the transcriptional level by upregulation of the promoter at high osmolarity and repression of transcription by the nucleoid-associated protein H-NS at low osmolarity. In the present study, we describe an additional level of proU osmoregulation that is independent of transcriptional regulation. We show that osmoregulation occurs at a post-transcriptional level involving RNase III. RNase III specifically processes the proU mRNA within a conserved secondary structure extending from position +203 to +293 of the transcript. Processing is efficient at low osmolarity, but inhibited at high osmolarity. Blocking of RNase III processing by mutation of the processing site eliminates post-transcriptional osmoregulation of proU. Further, the proU mRNA is relatively stable at high osmolarity with a half-life of approximately 65 sec. However, upon osmotic downshift, RNase III immediately processes the proU mRNA which reduces its half-life to less than 4 sec. The data suggest that the primary role of RNase III-mediated processing of proU mRNA is to ensure rapid shutdown of proU upon hypo-osmotic stress.

Nonlinear fitness landscape of a molecular pathway.

Genes are regulated because their expression involves a fitness cost to the organism. The production of proteins by transcription and translation is a well-known cost factor, but the enzymatic activity of the proteins produced can also reduce fitness, depending on the internal state and the environment of the cell. Here, we map the fitness costs of a key metabolic network, the lactose utilization pathway in Escherichia coli. We measure the growth of several regulatory lac operon mutants in different environments inducing expression of the lac genes. We find a strikingly nonlinear fitness landscape, which depends on the production rate and on the activity rate of the lac proteins. A simple fitness model of the lac pathway, based on elementary biophysical processes, predicts the growth rate of all observed strains. The nonlinearity of fitness is explained by a feedback loop: production and activity of the lac proteins reduce growth, but growth also affects the density of these molecules. This nonlinearity has important consequences for molecular function and evolution. It generates a cliff in the fitness landscape, beyond which populations cannot maintain growth. In viable populations, there is an expression barrier of the lac genes, which cannot be exceeded in any stationary growth process. Furthermore, the nonlinearity determines how the fitness of operon mutants depends on the inducer environment. We argue that fitness nonlinearities, expression barriers, and gene-environment interactions are generic features of fitness landscapes for metabolic pathways, and we discuss their implications for the evolution of regulation.

BglJ-RcsB heterodimers relieve repression of the Escherichia coli bgl operon by H-NS.

RcsB is the response regulator of the complex Rcs two-component system, which senses perturbations in the outer membrane and peptidoglycan layer. BglJ is a transcriptional regulator whose constitutive expression causes activation of the H-NS- and StpA-repressed bgl (aryl-ß,D-glucoside) operon in Escherichia coli. RcsB and BglJ both belong to the LuxR-type family of transcriptional regulators with a characteristic C-terminal DNA-binding domain. Here, we show that BglJ and RcsB interact and form heterodimers that presumably bind upstream of the bgl promoter, as suggested by mutation of a sequence motif related to the consensus sequence for RcsA-RcsB heterodimers. Heterodimerization of BglJ-RcsB and relief of H-NS-mediated repression of bgl by BglJ-RcsB are apparently independent of RcsB phosphorylation. In addition, we show that LeuO, a pleiotropic LysR-type transcriptional regulator, likewise binds to the bgl upstream regulatory region and relieves repression of bgl independently of BglJ-RcsB. Thus, LeuO can affect bgl directly, as shown here, and indirectly by activating the H-NS-repressed yjjQ-bglJ operon, as shown previously. Taken together, heterodimer formation of RcsB and BglJ expands the role of the Rcs two-component system and the network of regulators affecting the bgl promoter.

H-NS-mediated repression of CRISPR-based immunity in Escherichia coli K12 can be relieved by the transcription activator LeuO.

The recently discovered prokaryotic CRISPR/Cas defence system provides immunity against viral infections and plasmid conjugation. It has been demonstrated that in Escherichia coli transcription of the Cascade genes (casABCDE) and to some extent the CRISPR array is repressed by heat-stable nucleoid-structuring (H-NS) protein, a global transcriptional repressor. Here we elaborate on the control of the E. coli CRISPR/Cas system, and study the effect on CRISPR-based anti-viral immunity. Transformation of wild-type E. coli K12 with CRISPR spacers that are complementary to phage Lambda does not lead to detectable protection against Lambda infection. However, when an H-NS mutant of E. coli K12 is transformed with the same anti-Lambda CRISPR, this does result in reduced sensitivity to phage infection. In addition, it is demonstrated that LeuO, a LysR-type transcription factor, binds to two sites flanking the casA promoter and the H-NS nucleation site, resulting in derepression of casABCDE12 transcription. Overexpression of LeuO in E. coli K12 containing an anti-Lambda CRISPR leads to an enhanced protection against phage infection. This study demonstrates that in E. coli H-NS and LeuO are antagonistic regulators of CRISPR-based immunity.