Escherichia coli transcription factor that both activates fatty acid synthesis and represses fatty acid degradation

Abstract

The fadR gene of Escherichia coli encodes a protein that acts as a negative regulator (repressor) of the inducible beta-oxidation pathway. We report that the FadR protein also functions as a positive transcriptional activator of the fabA gene, which encodes the enzyme introducing the double bond of the unsaturated fatty acids of E. coli.