Bacterial ArtA protein specifically binds to the internal region of IS1 in vitro

The internal region of bacterial translocatable IS1 acts as a cis-element to stimulate transcription from the various promoters located upstream. The product of the artA gene is genetically shown to stimulate transcription with the cis-element. Here, a codon-optimized artA gene was synthesized and cloned to express the ArtA protein. ArtA was purified as the Histagged protein. Nitrocellulose filter binding assay showed that ArtA specifically binds to the IS1 internal region. Electrophoretic mobility shift assay also showed specific binding of ArtA to the IS1 internal region. These results imply that ArtA directly binds to the IS1 internal region and stimulates transcription.