Mutational Analysis of the vacA Promoter Provides Insight into Gene Transcription in Helicobacter pylori

Analysis of 12 Helicobacter pylori promoters indicates the existence of a consensus −10 hexamer (TAtaaT) but little conservation of −35 sequences. In this study, mutations in either the H. pylori vacA −10 region or the −35 region resulted in decreased vacA transcription and suggested that an extended −10 motif is utilized. Thus, despite the lack of a −35 consensus sequence for H. pylori promoters, the −35 region plays a functional role in vacA transcription.