DevR regulon function is believed to be crucial for the survival of 
Mycobacterium tuberculosis during dormancy. In this study, we undertook a 
comprehensive analysis of the DevR regulon. All the regulon promoters were 
assigned to four classes based on the number of DevR binding sites (Dev boxes). 
A minimum of two boxes are essential for complete interaction and their tandem 
arrangement is an architectural hallmark at all promoters. Initial interaction 
of DevR with the conserved box is essential for its cooperative binding to 
adjacent sites bearing low to very poor sequence conservation and is the 
universal mechanism underlying DevR-mediated transcriptional induction. The 
functional importance of tandem arrangement was established by analyzing 
promoter variants harboring Dev boxes with altered spacing. Conserved sequence 
logos were generated from 47 binding sequences which included 24 newly 
discovered Dev boxes. In each half site of an 18-bp binding motif, G(5) and C(7) 
are essential for DevR binding. Finally, we show that DevR regulon induction 
occurs in a temporal manner and genes that are induced early are also usually 
powerfully induced. The information theory-based approach along with binding and 
temporal expression studies provide us with comprehensive insights into the 
complex pattern of DevR regulon activation.