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. 1992 Jul;174(14):4842–4846. doi: 10.1128/jb.174.14.4842-4846.1992

The replication initiator operon of promiscuous plasmid RK2 encodes a gene that complements an Escherichia coli mutant defective in single-stranded DNA-binding protein.

O S Jovanovic 1, E K Ayres 1, D H Figurski 1
PMCID: PMC206285  PMID: 1624472

Abstract

The amino acid sequence of the 13-kDa polypeptide (P116) encoded by the first gene of the trfA operon of IncP plasmid RK2 shows significant similarity to several known single-stranded DNA-binding proteins. We found that unregulated expression of this gene from its natural promoter (trfAp) or induced expression from a strong heterologous promoter (trcp) was sufficient to complement the temperature-sensitive growth phenotype of an Escherichia coli ssb-1 mutant. The RK2 ssb gene is the first example of a plasmid single-stranded DNA-binding protein-encoding gene that is coregulated with replication functions, indicating a possible role in plasmid replication.

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Selected References

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