opdA, a Salmonella enterica Serovar Typhimurium Gene Encoding a Protease, Is Part of an Operon Regulated by Heat Shock

The opdA (prlC) gene of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium and Escherichia coli encodes the metalloprotease oligopeptidase A (OpdA). We report that opdA is cotranscribed with a downstream open reading frame, yhiQ. Transcription of this operon is induced after a temperature shift (30 to 42°C), and this induction depends on the heat shock sigma factor encoded by the rpoH (htpR) gene.