Summary
The str operon of Escherichia coli contains genes for ribosomal proteins S12 and S7 and for elongation factors EF-G and EF-Tu (Jaskunas et al. 1975). We have subcloned various segments of DNA from this operon onto multicopy plasmids. We found that cells carrying a recombinant plasmid which lacks the major promoter for the str operon but contains the 5′ portion of the EF-Tu gene synthesize a novel protein which we have identified as a truncated EF-Tu molecule. Moreover, cells carrying plasmids with an intact EF-Tu gene synthesize the elongation factor at a 3-to 5-fold higher rate than haploid cells. Thus the EF-Tu gene can be expressed in the absence of the major promoter for the str operon. This expression is not due to read-through from plasmid promoters, but it is dependent on the presence of the distal portion of the EF-G gene on the plasmids. These results indicate that there is a secondary promoter for EF-Tu expression, apparently located within the structural gene for elongation factor EF-G.
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Communicated by K. Isono
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Zengel, J.M., Lindahl, L. A secondary promoter for elongation factor Tu synthesis in the str ribosomal protein operon of Escherichia coli . Mol Gen Genet 185, 487–492 (1982). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00334145
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00334145