Transcriptional Analysis of the Rubrerythrin and Superoxide Dismutase Genes of Clostridium perfringens

We cloned and sequenced a 2.7-kb fragment of chromosomal DNA from Clostridium perfringens containing the superoxide dismutase-encoding gene, sod. Previously, rubrerythrin from C. perfringens had been isolated and its gene (rbr) had been cloned (Y. Lehmann, L. Meile, and M. Teuber, J. Bacteriol. 178:7152–7158, 1996). Northern blot experiments revealed a length of approximately 800 bases for each transcript of rbr and sod of C. perfringens. Thus, rbr and sod each represent a monocistronic operon. Their transcription start points were located by primer extension analyses. sod transcription was shown to depend on the growth phase, and it reached a maximum during the transition from log phase to stationary phase. Neither sod nor rbr transcription was influenced by oxidative stress.