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. 1990 Jan;172(1):431–436. doi: 10.1128/jb.172.1.431-436.1990

Escherichia coli ribosomal protein L10 is rapidly degraded when synthesized in excess of ribosomal protein L7/L12.

C Petersen 1
PMCID: PMC208449  PMID: 2403546

Abstract

In Escherichia coli the genes encoding ribosomal proteins L10 and L7/12, rplJ and rplL, respectively, are cotranscribed and subject to translational coupling. Synthesis of both proteins is coordinately regulated at the translational level by binding of L10 or a complex of L10 and L7/L12 to a single target in the mRNA leader region upstream of rplJ. Unexpectedly, small deletions that inactivated the ribosome-binding site of the rplL gene carried on multicopy plasmids exerted a negative effect on expression of the upstream rplJ gene. This effect could be overcome by overproduction of L7/L12 in trans from another plasmid. This apparent stimulation resulted from stabilization of the overproduced L10 protein by L7/L12, presumably because free L10, in contrast to L10 complexed with L7/L12, is subject to rapid proteolytic decay. The contribution of this decay mechanism to the regulation of the rplJL operon is evaluated.

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Selected References

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