Expression of the cloned uvrB gene of Escherichia coli: dependency on nonsense suppressors

Role of the Escherichia coli nucleotide excision repair proteins in DNA replication

DNA polymerase I (PolI) functions both in nucleotide excision repair (NER) and in the processing of Okazaki fragments that are generated on the lagging strand during DNA replication. Escherichia coli cells completely lacking the PolI enzyme are viable as long as they are grown on minimal medium. Here we show that viability is fully dependent on the presence of functional UvrA, UvrB, and UvrD (helicase II) proteins but does not require UvrC. In contrast, delta polA cells grow even better when the uvrC gene has been deleted. Apparently UvrA, UvrB, and UvrD are needed in a replication backup system that replaces the PolI function, and UvrC interferes with this alternative replication pathway. With specific mutants of UvrC we could show that the inhibitory effect of this protein is related to its catalytic activity that on damaged DNA is responsible for the 3' incision reaction. Specific mutants of UvrA and UvrB were also studied for their capacity to support the PolI-independent replication. Deletion of the UvrC-binding domain of UvrB resulted in a phenotype similar to that caused by deletion of the uvrC gene, showing that the inhibitory incision activity of UvrC is mediated via binding to UvrB. A mutation in the N-terminal zinc finger domain of UvrA does not affect NER in vivo or in vitro. The same mutation, however, does give inviability in combination with the delta polA mutation. Apparently the N-terminal zinc-binding domain of UvrA has specifically evolved for a function outside DNA repair. A model for the function of the UvrA, UvrB, and UvrD proteins in the alternative replication pathway is discussed.

Structure of the uvrB gene of Escherichia coli. Homology with other DNA repair enzymes and characterization of the uvrB5 mutation

The complete nucleotide sequence of the Escherichia coli uvrB gene has been determined. The coding region of the uvrB gene consists of 2019 nucleotides which direct the synthesis of a 673 amino-acid long polypeptide with a calculated molecular weight of 76.614 daltons. Comparison of the UvrB protein sequence to other known DNA repair enzymes revealed that 2 domains of the UvrB protein (domain I = 6 amino acids, domain II = 14 amino acids) are also present in the protein sequence of the uvrC gene. We show that the structural homologies between UvrB and UvrC are as well reflected by the cross-reactivity of anti-uvrB and anti-uvrC antibodies with UvrC and UvrB protein respectively. In the N-terminal part of UvrB, domain III (17 amino acids) shows a strong homology with one part of the AlkA gene product. Adjacent to domain III, an ATP binding site consensus sequence is found in domain IV. The uvrB5 mutant gene from strain AB1885 has been cloned on plasmid pBL01. We show that the uvrB5 mutation is due to a point deletion of a CG basepair and results in the synthesis of an 18 kD protein composed of the 113 N-terminal amino acids of the wild type uvrB gene and a 43 amino acid long tail coded in the -1 frame.

Analysis of regulatory sequences upstream of the E. coli uvrB gene; involvement of the DnaA protein

A region located upstream of the uvrB promoters P1 and P2 was found to cause high plasmid loss when cloned in multicopy vectors. Two sequence elements responsible for this phenomenon were identified by mapping of spontaneous mutations that restore plasmid maintenance: a sequence known to have in vitro promoter activity and a partially overlapping sequence that shows extensive homology to recognition sites for the DnaA protein. Accordingly alterations in the level of DnaA protein in vivo were found to affect the extent of plasmid loss. A possible role for interaction of the DnaA protein with the region of interest is discussed in relation to regulation of uvrB expression.

Effect of lexA and ssb genes, present on a uvrA recombinant plasmid, on the UV survival of Escherichia coli K-12

The recombinant plasmid pJA01 contains, besides the uvrA gene, the genes lexA, ubiA and ssb. This plasmid does not fully complement a uvrA mutation in a Rec+ background. Plasmids which contain the uvrA and ssg genes, but not the lexA gene, show a higher but still only partial complementation. Full complementation achieved when the ssb gene us inactivated by insertion of Tn5. Furthermore, it appears that the presence of the ssb gene on a multicopy plasmid sensitizes wild-type cells to UV light. The effect of Ssb (single-strand DNA binding protein) overproduction on UV survival is discussed.

The structure and function of the regulatory elements of the Escherichia coli uvrB gene

The construction and properties of recombinant plasmids carrying the Escherichia coli uvrB gene, including its transcriptional- and translational regulatory elements, is reported. The DNA sequence of the region, which governs the expression of the uvrB gene, has been determined. Within this sequence two non-overlapping DNA segments match the model sequence for Escherichia coli promoters (1). The '-10 regions' and the '-35 regions' of the proposed uvrB promoters are, respectively, 5'TAAAAT (P1), 5'TATAAT (P2) and 5'TTGGCA (P1), 5'GTGATG (P2). The existence and the position of these promoters has been established by elimination of one promoter (P2), using molecular cloning procedures, by length measurements of in vitro synthesized 'run-off' transcripts and by protection of the uvrB regulatory region for S1 nuclease digestion using in vivo made RNA. Potential sites of interaction within the uvrB regulatory region with regulatory proteins, such as the LexA protein (2) and the UvrC protein (3) are discussed.

The repair of DNA damage: recent developments and new insights

This brief review presents the salient features of new developments in the enzymatic repair of base damage to DNA. DNA glycosylases and apurinic/apyrimidinic (AP) endonucleases are reviewed and evidence is presented that in at least two prokaryote systems incision of UV-irradiated DNA occurs by the sequential action of these two classes of enzymes. In contradistinction, the uvrA, uvrB, and uvrC gene products of E coli appear to function as a multi-protein complex that catalyzes hydrolysis of phosphodiester bonds in damaged DNA directly. The inducible rapid repair of O6-methylguanine in E coli is also reviewed.

Expression of the cloned uvrB gene of Escherichia coli: mode of transcription and orientation

The Escherichia coli uvrB gene, located on a 1.5-megadalton EcoRI (fragment F, derived from transducing phage lambda b2att2 [lambda b2cI857intam6 delta (bioAB)bio-FCD+uvrB+], has been cloned in the unique EcoRI site of several "relaxed" plasmids, i.e., pMB9, pBR322, and pBH20 (= ;BR322, including the lac regulatory elements [K. Itakura, T. Hirose, R. Crea, A. D. Riggs, H. L. Heyneker, F. Bolivar, and H. W. Boyer, Science 198:1056--1063, 1977]y. Expression of the uvrB gene, both on pMB9 and on pBH20, occurs only when fragment F has one particular orientation. Cloning of this fragment on pBR322 in either orientation does not allow expression of the uvrB gene. Transcription of this gene on pNP5 ( = pMB9 uvrB) is shown to be dependent on a pMB9 promotor that is located on a 0.22-megadalton EcoRI-HindIII fragment. Using plasmid pBH20 as a vector, we could demonstrate that expression of the uvrB gene is under control of the lac promotor-operator region. From deoxyribonucleic acid-deoxyribonucleic acid hybridization experiments with lambda pgal8 deoxyribonucleic acid and restriction fragments of pNP5 deoxyribonucleic acid it could be shown that the uvrB gene is transcribed clockwise on the chromosome.