Termination of transcription in vitro in the Escherichia coli tryptophan operon leader region

Transcription elongation is finely tuned by dozens of regulatory factors

Understanding the complex network that regulates transcription elongation requires the quantitative analysis of RNA polymerase II (Pol II) activity in a wide variety of regulatory environments. We performed native elongating transcript sequencing (NET-seq) in 41 strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae lacking known elongation regulators, including RNA processing factors, transcription elongation factors, chromatin modifiers, and remodelers. We found that the opposing effects of these factors balance transcription elongation and antisense transcription. Different sets of factors tightly regulate Pol II progression across gene bodies so that Pol II density peaks at key points of RNA processing. These regulators control where Pol II pauses with each obscuring large numbers of potential pause sites that are primarily determined by DNA sequence and shape. Antisense transcription varies highly across the regulatory landscapes analyzed, but antisense transcription in itself does not affect sense transcription at the same locus. Our findings collectively show that a diverse array of factors regulate transcription elongation by precisely balancing Pol II activity.

RNA Polymerase's Relationship with the Ribosome: Not So Physical, Most of the Time

In bacteria, the rates of transcription elongation and translation elongation are coordinated, changing together in response to growth conditions. It has been proposed that this is due to physical coupling of RNA polymerase and the lead ribosome on nascent mRNA, an interaction important for preventing premature transcription termination by Rho factor. Recent studies challenge this view and provide evidence that coordination is indirect, mediated in Escherichia coli by the alarmone (p)ppGpp. Here, we discuss these new findings and how they shape our understanding of the functional relationship between RNA polymerase and the ribosome as well as the basis of transcriptional polarity.

Mechanisms of Transcriptional Pausing in Bacteria

Pausing by RNA polymerase (RNAP) during transcription regulates gene expression in all domains of life. In this review, we recap the history of transcriptional pausing discovery, summarize advances in our understanding of the underlying causes of pausing since then, and describe new insights into the pausing mechanisms and pause modulation by transcription factors gained from structural and biochemical experiments. The accumulated evidence to date suggests that upon encountering a pause signal in the nucleic-acid sequence being transcribed, RNAP rearranges into an elemental, catalytically inactive conformer unable to load NTP substrate. The conformation, and as a consequence lifetime, of an elemental paused RNAP is modulated by backtracking, nascent RNA structure, binding of transcription regulators, or a combination of these mechanisms. We conclude the review by outlining open questions and directions for future research in the field of transcriptional pausing.

The Mechanisms of Substrate Selection, Catalysis, and Translocation by the Elongating RNA Polymerase

Multi-subunit DNA-dependent RNA polymerases synthesize all classes of cellular RNAs, ranging from short regulatory transcripts to gigantic messenger RNAs. RNA polymerase has to make each RNA product in just one try, even if it takes millions of successive nucleotide addition steps. During each step, RNA polymerase selects a correct substrate, adds it to a growing chain, and moves one nucleotide forward before repeating the cycle. However, RNA synthesis is anything but monotonous: RNA polymerase frequently pauses upon encountering mechanical, chemical and torsional barriers, sometimes stepping back and cleaving off nucleotides from the growing RNA chain. A picture in which these intermittent dynamics enable processive, accurate, and controllable RNA synthesis is emerging from complementary structural, biochemical, computational, and single-molecule studies. Here, we summarize our current understanding of the mechanism and regulation of the on-pathway transcription elongation. We review the details of substrate selection, catalysis, proofreading, and translocation, focusing on rate-limiting steps, structural elements that modulate them, and accessory proteins that appear to control RNA polymerase translocation.

Pause & go: from the discovery of RNA polymerase pausing to its functional implications

The synthesis of nascent RNA is a discontinuous process in which phases of productive elongation by RNA polymerase are interrupted by frequent pauses. Transcriptional pausing was first observed decades ago, but was long considered to be a special feature of transcription at certain genes. This view was challenged when studies using genome-wide approaches revealed that RNA polymerase II pauses at promoter-proximal regions in large sets of genes in Drosophila and mammalian cells. High-resolution genomic methods uncovered that pausing is not restricted to promoters, but occurs globally throughout gene-body regions, implying the existence of key-rate limiting steps in nascent RNA synthesis downstream of transcription initiation. Here, we outline the experimental breakthroughs that led to the discovery of pervasive transcriptional pausing, discuss its emerging roles and regulation, and highlight the importance of pausing in human development and disease.

Four RNA families with functional transient structures

Protein-coding and non-coding RNA transcripts perform a wide variety of cellular functions in diverse organisms. Several of their functional roles are expressed and modulated via RNA structure. A given transcript, however, can have more than a single functional RNA structure throughout its life, a fact which has been previously overlooked. Transient RNA structures, for example, are only present during specific time intervals and cellular conditions. We here introduce four RNA families with transient RNA structures that play distinct and diverse functional roles. Moreover, we show that these transient RNA structures are structurally well-defined and evolutionarily conserved. Since Rfam annotates one structure for each family, there is either no annotation for these transient structures or no such family. Thus, our alignments either significantly update and extend the existing Rfam families or introduce a new RNA family to Rfam. For each of the four RNA families, we compile a multiple-sequence alignment based on experimentally verified transient and dominant (dominant in terms of either the thermodynamic stability and/or attention received so far) RNA secondary structures using a combination of automated search via covariance model and manual curation. The first alignment is the Trp operon leader which regulates the operon transcription in response to tryptophan abundance through alternative structures. The second alignment is the HDV ribozyme which we extend to the 5' flanking sequence. This flanking sequence is involved in the regulation of the transcript's self-cleavage activity. The third alignment is the 5' UTR of the maturation protein from Levivirus which contains a transient structure that temporarily postpones the formation of the final inhibitory structure to allow translation of maturation protein. The fourth and last alignment is the SAM riboswitch which regulates the downstream gene expression by assuming alternative structures upon binding of SAM. All transient and dominant structures are mapped to our new alignments introduced here.

Identification of the XorII methyltransferase gene and a vsr homolog from Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae

The gene encoding the XorII methyltransferase (M.XorII) was cloned from Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae and characterized in Escherichia coli. The M.XorII activity was localized to a 3.1 kb BamHI-BstXI fragment, which contained two open reading frames (ORFs) of 1272 nucleotides (424 amino acids) and 408 nucleotides (136 amino acids). Ten polypeptide domains conserved in other M5 cytosine methyltransferases (MTases) were identified in the deduced amino acid sequence of the 1272 ORF. E. coli Mrr+ strains were transformed poorly by plasmids containing the XorII MTase gene, indicating the presence of at least one MCG in the recognition sequence for M.XorII (CGATCG). The 408 nucleotide ORF was 36% identical at the amino acid level to sequences of the E. coli dem-vsr gene, which is required for very short patch repair. X. oryzae pv. oryzae genomic DNA that is resistant to digestion by PvuI and XorII hybridizes with a 7.0 kb fragment containing the XorII MTase gene and vsr homolog, whereas DNA from strains that lack M.XorII activity do not hybridize with the fragment.

Parameters affecting transcription termination by Escherichia coli RNA polymerase

Escherichia coli RNA polymerase can terminate transcription efficiently at rho-independent terminators in a purified transcription system in the absence of accessory factors. This process of "intrinsic termination" involves direct recognition of the terminator by the core RNA polymerase, and provides an important model system for the study of the molecular interactions involved in the switch between elongation and termination. We have analyzed the intrinsic termination efficiency (%T) of 13 rho-independent terminators, under a variety of in vitro reaction conditions. Although all of these sites share the general sequence features of typical rho-independent terminators, we find a wide range of %T (2% to 90%) for the different sites under our standard transcription conditions. While %T for a particular site is characteristic of that site, the efficiency can be altered considerably by the nature and concentration of salts in the reaction, by alteration of the concentrations of the nucleoside triphosphate substrates, or by transcription from supercoiled rather than linear templates. Surprisingly, different conditions can alter %T to a different extent for different terminators. For neutral salts such as potassium chloride or potassium glutamate, changes in the range from 0.1 to 1 M affect %T for different terminators in a distinct manner, depending on the terminator and the anion involved. At some sites, %T is greatly increased by Cl- concentrations up to 1 M, while at other sites %T is reduced or unaffected by these conditions. At some sites K+ concentrations up to 1 M give a modest increase in %T, while at other sites %T is slightly reduced under the same conditions. Thus the actual values of %T, as well as the order of terminator sites ranked according to %T, can be altered greatly according to the choice of reaction conditions. Reduction of the Mg2+ concentration below 1 mM has a dramatic and quite different effect, enhancing termination to approximately 100% for all terminators tested. Transcription of supercoiled DNA templates gives somewhat reduced %T as compared with linear DNA templates. However, the effect is no greater than twofold. Our results are not consistent with those expected for models in which %T is determined by the differential stability of DNA, RNA and hybrid duplex structures at the melted region in the transcription complex. Thus, the Cl anion does not affect the stability of nucleic acid duplexes even at 1 M concentrations, but can enhance termination tenfold. Also, the alterations of monovalent cation concentration that affect %T are not expected to have a differential effect on Tm for DNA, RNA and hybrid duplexes.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Prediction of rho-independent Escherichia coli transcription terminators. A statistical analysis of their RNA stem-loop structures

Escherichia coli rho-independent transcription terminators are characterized by an RNA structure having a G+C-rich stem-loop followed by a series of uridine residues, but they can be only partially predicted by the stability of this structure or by its primary sequence. A large number of such terminators have been identified or proposed in the literature, and we have constituted a list of them (148 found in 1021 x 10(3) base-pairs of E. coli DNA sequences) in order to analyze statistically the corresponding RNA hairpins. We show that the size of the loops presents a narrow distribution, that their sequences are not random, and that most loops are closed by a C.G base-pair. In particular, 55% of the loops are tetranucleotides and the most abundant loop sequences are UUCG and GAAA. These loops are abundant in prokaryotic and eukaryotic RNAs, and are known to enhance the stability of RNA hairpins. We propose that these tetraloops play an important role in the nucleation of the nascent RNA structures, as does also the presence of a C.G base-pair closing a hairpin loop. This analysis allows us to propose a model of formation of an RNA hairpin during the termination process and to construct an algorithm of prediction of the terminators in a given DNA sequence. For the E. coli sequences, it clearly distinguishes inter- from intracistronic terminator-like structures, and selects 141 of the 148 rho-independent terminators given in the literature, with a very low background. It also predicts with reasonable accuracy the in vitro termination efficiency of known rho-independent terminators, as well as predicting the existence of 35 as yet uncharacterized terminators.

Transcriptional regulation of F plasmid gene srnB: rifampicin-promoted in vitro readthrough of a terminator in the leader region

srnB is an F-plasmid encoded gene, otherwise silent, whose expression is induced by added rifampicin, leading to the release of cellular Mg2+ and degradation of stable RNA. In the absence of rifampicin, transcripts from the srnB gene were relatively short. S1 nuclease mapping revealed that the short mRNA species terminated within the leader, at the 3' end of a potential stem-and-loop structure. A deletion in the stem-loop resulted in constitutive synthesis of the mRNA that extended beyond the termination site into the structural gene. Even with the wild-type gene, transcription continued beyond the terminator sequence in the presence of added rifampicin. Most of the transcripts synthesized in the presence of rifampicin were long enough to encode the srnB protein. We hypothesize from these results that RNA polymerase associated with rifampicin can read through the terminator to induce srnB expression.

Analysis of the requirements for transcription pausing in the tryptophan operon

RNA polymerase pausing during transcription of the tryptophan (trp) operon leader region is postulated to be the key event that synchronizes transcription of this region with translation of the coding region for the trp leader peptide. Coupling of transcription to translation enables the cell to monitor the intracellular concentration of charged tRNATrp and determine whether polymerase should terminate transcription at the attenuator or proceed into the structural genes of the operon. We used mutant templates containing deletions of DNA segments corresponding to sequences that are predicted to form alternative RNA secondary structures to show that formation of an RNA hairpin in the leader transcript, and the concentration of the next nucleoside triphosphate to be added to the paused transcript, both markedly affect the kinetics of pausing in vitro. A model is presented that accounts for many of the findings obtained in this and other pausing studies.

Attenuation may regulate gene expression in animal viruses and cells

In eukaryotes, an abundant population of promoter-proximal RNA chains have been observed and studied, mainly in whole nuclear RNA, in denovirus type 2, and in SV40. On the basis of these results it has been suggested that a premature termination process resembling attenuation in prokaryotes occurs in eukaryotes. Moreover, these studies have shown that the adenosine analog 5,6-dichloro-1-beta-D-ribofuranosylbenzimidazole (DRB) enhances premature termination, but its mode of action is not understood. The determination of the nucleotide sequences of SV40 and other viruses and cellular genes provide means for elucidating the nucleotide sequences involved in the attenuation mechanism. A model has recently been described in which attenuation and mRNA modulation in a feedback control system quantitatively regulate SV40 gene expression. The suggested mechanism described in this model opens up approaches to the investigation of attenuation and mRNA modulation as a possible mechanism whereby eukaryotes may regulate transcription in a variety of different circumstances.

Transcription of minute virus of mice, an autonomous parvovirus, may be regulated by attenuation

To characterize the transcriptional organization and regulation of minute virus of mice, an autonomous parvovirus, viral transcriptional complexes were isolated and cleaved with restriction enzymes. The in vivo preinitiated nascent RNA was elongated in vitro in the presence of [alpha-32P]UTP to generate runoff transcripts. The lengths of the runoff transcripts were analyzed by gel electrophoresis under denaturing conditions. On the basis of the map locations of the restriction sites and the lengths of the runoff transcripts, the in vivo initiation sites were determined. Two major initiation sites having similar activities were thus identified at residues 201 +/- 5 and 2005 +/- 5; both of them were preceded by a TATAA sequence. When uncleaved viral transcriptional complexes or isolated nuclei were incubated in vitro in the presence of [alpha-32P]UTP or [alpha-32P]CTP, they synthesized labeled RNA that, as determined by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, contained a major band of 142 nucleotides. The RNA of the major band was mapped between the initiation site at residue 201 +/- 5 and residue 342. We noticed the potential of forming two mutually exclusive stem-and-loop structures in the 142-nucleotide RNA; one of them is followed by a string of uridylic acid residues typical of a procaryotic transcription termination signal. We propose that, as in the transcription of simian virus 40, RNA transcription in minute virus of mice may be regulated by attenuation and may involve eucaryotic polymerase B, which can respond to a transcription termination signal similar to that of the procaryotic polymerase.

Escherichia coli phenylalanyl-tRNA synthetase operon region. Evidence for an attenuation mechanism. Identification of the gene for the ribosomal protein L20

The nucleotide sequences of pheS and of the beginning of pheT have been determined. The genes pheS and pheT code, respectively, for the small and large subunits of phenylalanyl-tRNA synthetase, an alpha 2 beta 2 enzyme. Upstream from pheS the sequence shows another open reading frame of 354 nucleotides (rplT), which accounts for a protein of Mr 13,400. The product of this gene, previously named "P12", is identified as the ribosomal protein L20. The promoter for the pheS, T operon was located 368 nucleotides in front of pheS by transcription experiments in vitro. The promoter site is followed by a short open reading frame, which codes for a 14-residue peptide containing five phenylalanine residues. Immediately downstream from the stop codon of this open reading frame, the DNA sequence indicates that the transcript can be folded into three alternative secondary structures, one of which is a site of transcription termination. In vitro, 90% of transcription products initiated at the pheS, T promoter terminate at this site. However, long run-off transcripts proceeding through the terminator and covering the pheS structural gene are observed. No other transcription initiation could be detected between the terminator and the pheS structural gene. All these results are consistent with a mechanism by which phenylalanine-mediated attenuation controls the expression of phenylalanyl-tRNA synthetase. Further evidence is provided for this model by the features of pheS, T regulation in vivo (see the accompanying paper).

Effect of dnaA and rpoB mutations on attenuation in the trp operon of Escherichia coli

The rate of synthesis of tryptophan synthetase was found to be increased by heat inactivation of the dnaA protein in three dnaA mutants temperature sensitive for initiation of DNA replication. The effect of the dnaA mutations was dependent upon the presence of an intact attenuator in the tryptophan operon. The activity of the mutated dnaA protein at the tryptophan attenuator and its activity as initiator for chromosome replication decreased gradually with increasing temperature. Two rpoB mutations that suppress the temperature defect of the dnaA46 mutation in initiation of replication were tested for effects on attenuation in the tryptophan operon. One of the rpoB mutations caused increased transcription termination at the attenuator independent of the dnaA allele, whereas the other mutation had no effect. Expression of the histidine and threonine operons, which are also regulated by attenuation, was unaffected by the dnaA mutations.

Nucleotide sequence of the ilvB promoter-regulatory region: a biosynthetic operon controlled by attenuation and cyclic AMP

The DNA sequence of the promoter-regulatory region of the ilvB operon of Escherichia coli was determined. This region encodes a potential leader polypeptide containing 32 amino acids, 12 of which are the regulatory amino acids valine and leucine. Approximately 50 residues downstream from the coding region for the potential leader peptide is a site for terminating transcription. In vitro transcription experiments show that transcription terminates at this site and produces a leader mRNA of approximately equal to 188 nucleotides. A model for the multivalent regulation of this operon by valyl- and leucyl-tRNA is proposed on the basis of the mutually exclusive formation of five strong stem-and-loop structures in the leader mRNA. In addition, the -35 and -70 regions of this sequence show close structural homologies to areas in cyclic AMP receptor protein (CRP)-dependent promoters reported to be important for CRP function. In vitro transcription from the ilvB promoter was greatly increased by cyclic AMP and CRP. Taken together, these data strongly suggest that the ilvB biosynthetic operon is negatively controlled by multivalent transcription termination and is positively regulated by cyclic AMP and CRP.

Transcription of Regions within the divergent argECBH operon of Escherichia coli: evidence for lack of an attenuation mechanism

Using in vitro and in vivo assays, we could detect no early termination of DNA transcription in the proximal part of the argCBH arm of the argECBH divergent operon. The discrepancy noted previously between the respective amplitudes of variation of messenger and enzyme synthesis must therefore be attributed to other causes than a difference in efficiency between attenuation and repression.

Transcription termination at the tryptophan operon attenuator is decreased in vitro by an oligomer complementary to a segment of the leader transcript

A DNA oligomer 15 nucleotides long was used to probe the involvement of RNA secondary structure in the control of transcription termination at the attenuator of the tryptophan (trp) operon of Escherichia coli. This 15-mer is perfectly complementary to a segment of trp RNA that is thought to play a role in regulation of attenuation. When added to an in vitro transcription reaction mixture containing wild-type E. coli or Salmonella typhimurium trp operon templates, the complementary 15-mer caused a 4-fold increase in read-through transcription. By contrast, the 15-mer did not affect attenuation when a mutant E. coli template was used that does not allow formation of a crucial RNA secondary structure. Control experiments established that oligomers that were not complementary to E. coli trp leader RNA did not affect attenuation and that the 15-mer did not reduce termination when the transcript lacked a complementary region. Other experiments established that the 15-mer did not increase read-through transcription by allowing RNA polymerase molecules that might have already stopped at the attenuator to resume transcription. These findings provide direct support for the view that alternate base-paired structures control transcription termination at the trp attenuator.

Termination of transcription by nusA gene protein of Escherichia coli

The nusA gene protein of Escherichia coli and N gene protein of bacteriophage lambda interact in vitro and cooperate in vivo to prevent transcription termination. In vitro the nusA gene protein causes RNA polymerase to pause in the tR2 terminator region of lambda DNA. A completed termination event at tR2 requires both the nusA gene protein and the previously described E. coli termination factor rho. The nusA gene protein is therefore both a transcription termination factor and a protein which couples antitermination factors to the elongating transcription complex.

Attenuation in the control of expression of bacterial operons

Bacterial operons concerned with the biosynthesis of amino acids are often controlled by a process of attenuation. The translation product of the initial segment of the transcript of each operon is a peptide rich in the amino acid that the particular operon controls. If the amino acid is in short supply translation is stalled at the relevant codons of the transcript long enough for the succeeding segment of the transcript to form secondary structures that allow the transcribing RNA polymerase molecule to proceed through a site that otherwise dictates termination of transcription. This site is the attenuator; the process is attenuation.

Rho-independent termination: dyad symmetry in DNA causes RNA polymerase to pause during transcription in vitro

Termination of transcription by RNA polymerase at rho-independent sites appears to depend primarily upon two structural features, a region of GC-rich dyad symmetry in the DNA preceding the stop point and a stretch of uridines at the 3' end of the transcript. The possibility that the former might be responsible for slowing elongation prompted us to perform a kinetic analysis of transcription across the leader and terminator regions of the E. coli tryptophan (trp) operon. Regions where the elongation rate is dramatically slowed or stopped are identifiable because they generate discrete transcript hands on a gel. Species derived from pause sites, unlike those resulting from termination sites, are transient and detectable only within the first two minutes of transcription, since polymerase eventually resumes elongation. At two mutant trp attenuator sites (trp a135 and trp a1419), where termination is incomplete or absent in vitro, a substantial pause is nevertheless observed. Likewise, a significant pause occurs at trp t, the termination site at the end of the operon. Our experiments also reveal a major pause site at about position 90 in the trp leader sequence, just past a region of dyad symmetry. The RNA hairpin corresponding to this site is U-rich, and pausing is strongly enhanced by incorporation of BrUTP. In contrast, this analog does not affect pausing at the attenuator or terminator sites with hairpins that are GC-rich. These results strongly support the hypothesis that pausing of the polymerase is an obligatory prelude to rho-independent termination. Moreover, the termination event evidently results from consecutive but discrete responses to separate structural features of these sites.

Studies of RNA release reaction catalyzed by E. coli transcription termination factor rho using isolated ternary transcription complexes

Protein factor rho catalyzes site-specific termination of transcription in a reaction requiring hydrolysis of nucleoside triphosphate with eventual release of RNA from RNA polymerase and DNA template. We have characterized the rho-catalyzed RNA release reaction using isolated transcription complexes. Transcription complexes containing T7 D111 DNA, RNA polymerase, and 3H-labeled nascent RNA were formed and isolated by gel filtration on an Agarose 5M column. When the ternary complexes were incubated with rho factor in the presence of ATP, or dATP, significant amounts of nascet RNA were released from the complexes as determined in a membrane filtration assay. Gel electrophoretic analysis of RNA has revealed that rho releases selected species of discrete-sized RNA from among those originally present in the ternary complexes. These results show that rho essentially acts to release RNA from those ternary complexes which have come to pause, and that this reaction proceeds in a discrete step separately from the pausing of RNA synthesis. Under the conditions used, the extent of RNA release widely varied at individual pausing sites and thus the action of rho exhibited certain site-selectivity.

Attenuation and processing of RNA from the rplJL--rpoBC transcription unit of Escherichia coli

Attenuation and processing of the mRNA from the ribosomal protein-RNA polymerase operon rplJL--rpoBC have been demonstrated by the analysis of nuclease SI-resistant RNA . DNA hybrids. These hybrids were formed between RNA produced in vivo and specific DNA restriction fragments which span the rplL--rpoB intercistronic region. The 3' end of the predominant attenuated RNA lies 69 nucleotides beyond the end of the rplL gene following sequence features that are similar to those of other known attenuators. The nonattenuated transcript is normally cleaved in the intercistronic region. However, in an RNase III mutant strain, the hybrids corresponding to the cleaved nonattenuated mRNAs disappear and the expected full-sized hybrid is seen. We have localized the cleavage to an area of possible secondary structure in the transcript approximately 200 nucleotides beyond the end of the rplL gene. This demontrates RNase III processing of Escherichia coli mRNA. The methods used in this study permit the examination of specific ends of large and complex polycistronic mRNAs. Such experiments should help in understanding how posttranscriptional events influence gene expression.

Mutation in the structural gene for seryl-transfer ribonucleic acid synthetase of Escherichia coli which affects formation of its gene product at high temperature

The rate of formation of seryl-transfer ribonucleic acid (tRNA) synthetase activity was temperature dependent in a temperature-sensitive mutant of Escherichia coli (K28) with an altered seryl-tRNA synthetase structural gene and in a class of spontaneous revertants derived from it. These revertants, which were selected by their ability to grow at 45 degrees C, had high levels of the thermolabile enzyme. The rate of formation of seryl-tRNA synthetase activity in the mutant and in the revertants fell from 100% to near zero with a 4 degrees C temperature range from 40 to 44 degrees C. The temperature-dependent rate of formation of seryl-tRNA synthetase activity was reversible. Dropping the temperature from 44 to 37 degrees C resulted, after a 2- to 3-min delay, in a resumption of the initial rate of formation of enzyme activity. The results could not be accounted for by in vivo or in vitro degradation of the active enzyme. Addition of rifampin just before the temperature shift down from 44 to 37 degrees C inhibited the appearance of seryl-tRNA synthetase activity at the lower temperature. Explanations which might account for these phenomena are proposed.

Direct selection and analysis of mutational events which diminish the level of expression of the trp operon

A new procedure was devised for selecting, from lac+ galE strains of Escherichia coli, mutants resistant to galactoside-induced lysis. When applied to trp-lac fusions, our method yields down mutations in the trp promoter.

The regulatory region of the trp operon of Serratia marcescens

The nucleotide sequence of the regulatory region of the trp operon of Serratia marcescens is presented. It contains a transcription termination control site in the transcribed leader region preceding the first structural gene of the operon as well as a regulated promoter/operator transcription initiation region. The structural organisation of the leader region differs substantially from that of Escherichia coli.

Expression of bacteriophage M13 DNA in vivo. Localization of the transcription initiation and termination signal of the mRNA coding for the major capsid protein

During the infection cycle of the filamentous bacteriophage M13 a phage specific RNA species is made which selectively directs in vitro the synthesis of the precursor of the major capsid protein encoded by gene VIII. This RNA is unstable (its mean half-life is 11 min) and is made in amounts representing at least 2% of the newly synthesized RN. Nucleotide sequence analysis have indicated that the synthesis of this RNA species is initiated and terminated at the same promoter (G0.18) and termination signal (T0.25) of the M13 genome as the 8S RNA species made in vitro under the direction of M13 replicative form DNA.