Skip to main content
PMC home page
Journal of Bacteriology logoLink to Journal of Bacteriology
. 1987 Dec;169(12):5735–5744. doi: 10.1128/jb.169.12.5735-5744.1987

Sequence analysis of the Escherichia coli dnaE gene.

H G Tomasiewicz 1, C S McHenry 1
PMCID: PMC214094  PMID: 3316192

Abstract

We have determined the sequence of a 4,350-nucleotide region of the Escherichia coli chromosome that contains dnaE, the structural gene for the alpha subunit of DNA polymerase III holoenzyme. The dnaE gene appeared to be part of an operon containing at least three other genes: 5'-lpxB-ORF23-dnaE-ORF37-3' (ORF, open reading frame). The lpxB gene encodes lipid A disaccharide synthase, an enzyme essential for cell growth and division (M. Nishijima, C.E. Bulawa, and C.R.H. Raetz, J. Bacteriol. 145:113-121, 1981). The termination codons of lpxB and ORF23 overlapped the initiation codons of ORF23 and dnaE, respectively, suggesting translational coupling. No rho-independent transcription termination sequences were observed. A potential internal transcriptional promoter was found preceding dnaE. Deletion of the -35 region of this promoter abolished dnaE expression in plasmids lacking additional upstream sequences. From the deduced amino acid sequence, alpha had a molecular weight of 129,920 and an isoelectric point of 4.93 for the denatured protein. ORF23 encoded a more basic protein (pI 7.11) with a molecular weight of 23,228. In the accompanying paper (D.N. Crowell, W.S. Reznikoff, and C.R.H. Raetz, J. Bacteriol. 169:5727-5734, 1987), the sequence of the upstream region that contains lpxA and lpxB is reported.

Full text

PDF
5741

Images in this article

5740Image
on p.5740

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Atlung T., Clausen E. S., Hansen F. G. Autoregulation of the dnaA gene of Escherichia coli K12. Mol Gen Genet. 1985;200(3):442–450. doi: 10.1007/BF00425729. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Blumenthal R. M., Lemaux P. G., Neidhardt F. C., Dennis P. P. The effects of the relA gene on the synthesis of aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases and other transcription and translation proteins in Escherichia coli A. Mol Gen Genet. 1976 Dec 22;149(3):291–296. doi: 10.1007/BF00268530. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Braun R. E., O'Day K., Wright A. Autoregulation of the DNA replication gene dnaA in E. coli K-12. Cell. 1985 Jan;40(1):159–169. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(85)90319-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Bridges B. A., Mottershead R. P. Mutagenic DNA repair in Escherichia coli. VIII. Involvement of DNA polymerase III in constitutive and inducible mutagenic repair after ultraviolet and gamma irradiation. Mol Gen Genet. 1978 Jun 1;162(1):35–41. doi: 10.1007/BF00333848. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Burgers P. M., Kornberg A., Sakakibara Y. The dnaN gene codes for the beta subunit of DNA polymerase III holoenzyme of escherichia coli. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1981 Sep;78(9):5391–5395. doi: 10.1073/pnas.78.9.5391. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Burton Z. F., Gross C. A., Watanabe K. K., Burgess R. R. The operon that encodes the sigma subunit of RNA polymerase also encodes ribosomal protein S21 and DNA primase in E. coli K12. Cell. 1983 Feb;32(2):335–349. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(83)90453-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Crowell D. N., Reznikoff W. S., Raetz C. R. Nucleotide sequence of the Escherichia coli gene for lipid A disaccharide synthase. J Bacteriol. 1987 Dec;169(12):5727–5734. doi: 10.1128/jb.169.12.5727-5734.1987. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Echols H., Lu C., Burgers P. M. Mutator strains of Escherichia coli, mutD and dnaQ, with defective exonucleolytic editing by DNA polymerase III holoenzyme. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1983 Apr;80(8):2189–2192. doi: 10.1073/pnas.80.8.2189. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Flower A. M., McHenry C. S. The adjacent dnaZ and dnaX genes of Escherichia coli are contained within one continuous open reading frame. Nucleic Acids Res. 1986 Oct 24;14(20):8091–8101. doi: 10.1093/nar/14.20.8091. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Fowler A. V., Zabin I. Amino acid sequence of beta-galactosidase. XI. Peptide ordering procedures and the complete sequence. J Biol Chem. 1978 Aug 10;253(15):5521–5525. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Fuller R. S., Funnell B. E., Kornberg A. The dnaA protein complex with the E. coli chromosomal replication origin (oriC) and other DNA sites. Cell. 1984 Oct;38(3):889–900. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(84)90284-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Garoff H., Ansorge W. Improvements of DNA sequencing gels. Anal Biochem. 1981 Aug;115(2):450–457. doi: 10.1016/0003-2697(81)90031-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Gefter M. L., Hirota Y., Kornberg T., Wechsler J. A., Barnoux C. Analysis of DNA polymerases II and 3 in mutants of Escherichia coli thermosensitive for DNA synthesis. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1971 Dec;68(12):3150–3153. doi: 10.1073/pnas.68.12.3150. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Hansen E. B., Hansen F. G., von Meyenburg K. The nucleotide sequence of the dnaA gene and the first part of the dnaN gene of Escherichia coli K-12. Nucleic Acids Res. 1982 Nov 25;10(22):7373–7385. doi: 10.1093/nar/10.22.7373. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Henson J. M., Chu H., Irwin C. A., Walker J. R. Isolation and characterization of dnaX and dnaY temperature-sensitive mutants of Escherichia coli. Genetics. 1979 Aug;92(4):1041–1059. doi: 10.1093/genetics/92.4.1041. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Horiuchi T., Maki H., Maruyama M., Sekiguchi M. Identification of the dnaQ gene product and location of the structural gene for RNase H of Escherichia coli by cloning of the genes. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1981 Jun;78(6):3770–3774. doi: 10.1073/pnas.78.6.3770. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Hübscher U., Kornberg A. The delta subunit of Escherichia coli DNA polymerase III holoenzyme is the dnaX gene product. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1979 Dec;76(12):6284–6288. doi: 10.1073/pnas.76.12.6284. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Hübscher U., Kornberg A. The dnaZ protein, the gamma subunit of DNA polymerase III holoenzyme of Escherichia coli. J Biol Chem. 1980 Dec 25;255(24):11698–11703. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Ikemura T. Codon usage and tRNA content in unicellular and multicellular organisms. Mol Biol Evol. 1985 Jan;2(1):13–34. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.molbev.a040335. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Iwakura Y., Ishihama A. Biosynthesis of RNA polymerase in Escherichia coli. II. control of RNA polymerase synthesis during nutritional shift up and down. Mol Gen Genet. 1975 Dec 23;142(1):67–84. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Johanson K. O., McHenry C. S. Adenosine 5'-O-(3-thiotriphosphate) can support the formation of an initiation complex between the DNA polymerase III holoenzyme and primed DNA. J Biol Chem. 1984 Apr 10;259(7):4589–4595. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Kodaira M., Biswas S. B., Kornberg A. The dnaX gene encodes the DNA polymerase III holoenzyme tau subunit, precursor of the gamma subunit, the dnaZ gene product. Mol Gen Genet. 1983;192(1-2):80–86. doi: 10.1007/BF00327650. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Konigsberg W., Godson G. N. Evidence for use of rare codons in the dnaG gene and other regulatory genes of Escherichia coli. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1983 Feb;80(3):687–691. doi: 10.1073/pnas.80.3.687. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. Lother H., Kölling R., Kücherer C., Schauzu M. dnaA protein-regulated transcription: effects on the in vitro replication of Escherichia coli minichromosomes. EMBO J. 1985 Feb;4(2):555–560. doi: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1985.tb03664.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  25. Lupski J. R., Ruiz A. A., Godson G. N. Promotion, termination, and anti-termination in the rpsU-dnaG-rpoD macromolecular synthesis operon of E. coli K-12. Mol Gen Genet. 1984;195(3):391–401. doi: 10.1007/BF00341439. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  26. Lupski J. R., Smiley B. L., Godson G. N. Regulation of the rpsU-dnaG-rpoD macromolecular synthesis operon and the initiation of DNA replication in Escherichia coli K-12. Mol Gen Genet. 1983;189(1):48–57. doi: 10.1007/BF00326054. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  27. Maki H., Horiuchi T., Kornberg A. The polymerase subunit of DNA polymerase III of Escherichia coli. I. Amplification of the dnaE gene product and polymerase activity of the alpha subunit. J Biol Chem. 1985 Oct 25;260(24):12982–12986. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  28. McClure W. R. Mechanism and control of transcription initiation in prokaryotes. Annu Rev Biochem. 1985;54:171–204. doi: 10.1146/annurev.bi.54.070185.001131. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  29. McHenry C. S., Crow W. DNA polymerase III of Escherichia coli. Purification and identification of subunits. J Biol Chem. 1979 Mar 10;254(5):1748–1753. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  30. McHenry C. S. DNA polymerase III holoenzyme of Escherichia coli: components and function of a true replicative complex. Mol Cell Biochem. 1985 Feb;66(1):71–85. doi: 10.1007/BF00231826. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  31. McHenry C., Kornberg A. DNA polymerase III holoenzyme of Escherichia coli. Purification and resolution into subunits. J Biol Chem. 1977 Sep 25;252(18):6478–6484. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  32. McLachlan A. D. Tests for comparing related amino-acid sequences. Cytochrome c and cytochrome c 551 . J Mol Biol. 1971 Oct 28;61(2):409–424. doi: 10.1016/0022-2836(71)90390-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  33. Minden J. S., Marians K. J. Replication of pBR322 DNA in vitro with purified proteins. Requirement for topoisomerase I in the maintenance of template specificity. J Biol Chem. 1985 Aug 5;260(16):9316–9325. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  34. Mullin D. A., Woldringh C. L., Henson J. M., Walker J. R. Cloning of the Escherichia coli dnaZX region and identification of its products. Mol Gen Genet. 1983;192(1-2):73–79. doi: 10.1007/BF00327649. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  35. Nishijima M., Bulawa C. E., Raetz C. R. Two interacting mutations causing temperature-sensitive phosphatidylglycerol synthesis in Escherichia coli membranes. J Bacteriol. 1981 Jan;145(1):113–121. doi: 10.1128/jb.145.1.113-121.1981. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  36. Normark S., Bergström S., Edlund T., Grundström T., Jaurin B., Lindberg F. P., Olsson O. Overlapping genes. Annu Rev Genet. 1983;17:499–525. doi: 10.1146/annurev.ge.17.120183.002435. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  37. O'Farrell P. H. High resolution two-dimensional electrophoresis of proteins. J Biol Chem. 1975 May 25;250(10):4007–4021. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  38. Ollis D. L., Kline C., Steitz T. A. Domain of E. coli DNA polymerase I showing sequence homology to T7 DNA polymerase. 1985 Feb 28-Mar 6Nature. 313(6005):818–819. doi: 10.1038/313818a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  39. Oppenheim D. S., Yanofsky C. Translational coupling during expression of the tryptophan operon of Escherichia coli. Genetics. 1980 Aug;95(4):785–795. doi: 10.1093/genetics/95.4.785. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  40. Platt T. Transcription termination and the regulation of gene expression. Annu Rev Biochem. 1986;55:339–372. doi: 10.1146/annurev.bi.55.070186.002011. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  41. Rosenberg M., Court D. Regulatory sequences involved in the promotion and termination of RNA transcription. Annu Rev Genet. 1979;13:319–353. doi: 10.1146/annurev.ge.13.120179.001535. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  42. Sancar A., Hack A. M., Rupp W. D. Simple method for identification of plasmid-coded proteins. J Bacteriol. 1979 Jan;137(1):692–693. doi: 10.1128/jb.137.1.692-693.1979. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  43. Sanger F., Coulson A. R. The use of thin acrylamide gels for DNA sequencing. FEBS Lett. 1978 Mar 1;87(1):107–110. doi: 10.1016/0014-5793(78)80145-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  44. Sanger F., Nicklen S., Coulson A. R. DNA sequencing with chain-terminating inhibitors. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1977 Dec;74(12):5463–5467. doi: 10.1073/pnas.74.12.5463. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  45. Scheuermann R., Tam S., Burgers P. M., Lu C., Echols H. Identification of the epsilon-subunit of Escherichia coli DNA polymerase III holoenzyme as the dnaQ gene product: a fidelity subunit for DNA replication. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1983 Dec;80(23):7085–7089. doi: 10.1073/pnas.80.23.7085. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  46. Schümperli D., McKenney K., Sobieski D. A., Rosenberg M. Translational coupling at an intercistronic boundary of the Escherichia coli galactose operon. Cell. 1982 Oct;30(3):865–871. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(82)90291-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  47. Shepard D., Oberfelder R. W., Welch M. M., McHenry C. S. Determination of the precise location and orientation of the Escherichia coli dnaE gene. J Bacteriol. 1984 May;158(2):455–459. doi: 10.1128/jb.158.2.455-459.1984. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  48. Shine J., Dalgarno L. The 3'-terminal sequence of Escherichia coli 16S ribosomal RNA: complementarity to nonsense triplets and ribosome binding sites. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1974 Apr;71(4):1342–1346. doi: 10.1073/pnas.71.4.1342. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  49. Smiley B. L., Lupski J. R., Svec P. S., McMacken R., Godson G. N. Sequences of the Escherichia coli dnaG primase gene and regulation of its expression. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1982 Aug;79(15):4550–4554. doi: 10.1073/pnas.79.15.4550. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  50. Staudenbauer W. L. Replication of small plasmids in extracts of Escherichia coli. Mol Gen Genet. 1976 Jun 15;145(3):273–280. doi: 10.1007/BF00325823. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  51. Taylor W. E., Straus D. B., Grossman A. D., Burton Z. F., Gross C. A., Burgess R. R. Transcription from a heat-inducible promoter causes heat shock regulation of the sigma subunit of E. coli RNA polymerase. Cell. 1984 Sep;38(2):371–381. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(84)90492-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  52. Tinoco I., Jr, Borer P. N., Dengler B., Levin M. D., Uhlenbeck O. C., Crothers D. M., Bralla J. Improved estimation of secondary structure in ribonucleic acids. Nat New Biol. 1973 Nov 14;246(150):40–41. doi: 10.1038/newbio246040a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  53. Welch M. M., McHenry C. S. Cloning and identification of the product of the dnaE gene of Escherichia coli. J Bacteriol. 1982 Oct;152(1):351–356. doi: 10.1128/jb.152.1.351-356.1982. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  54. Wold M. S., Mallory J. B., Roberts J. D., LeBowitz J. H., McMacken R. Initiation of bacteriophage lambda DNA replication in vitro with purified lambda replication proteins. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1982 Oct;79(20):6176–6180. doi: 10.1073/pnas.79.20.6176. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  55. Wu Y. H., Franden M. A., Hawker J. R., Jr, McHenry C. S. Monoclonal antibodies specific for the alpha subunit of the Escherichia coli DNA polymerase III holoenzyme. J Biol Chem. 1984 Oct 10;259(19):12117–12122. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  56. Yamamoto K. R., Alberts B. M., Benzinger R., Lawhorne L., Treiber G. Rapid bacteriophage sedimentation in the presence of polyethylene glycol and its application to large-scale virus purification. Virology. 1970 Mar;40(3):734–744. doi: 10.1016/0042-6822(70)90218-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  57. Yanisch-Perron C., Vieira J., Messing J. Improved M13 phage cloning vectors and host strains: nucleotide sequences of the M13mp18 and pUC19 vectors. Gene. 1985;33(1):103–119. doi: 10.1016/0378-1119(85)90120-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  58. Yin K. C., Blinkowa A., Walker J. R. Nucleotide sequence of the Escherichia coli replication gene dnaZX. Nucleic Acids Res. 1986 Aug 26;14(16):6541–6549. doi: 10.1093/nar/14.16.6541. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  59. Youderian P., Bouvier S., Susskind M. M. Sequence determinants of promoter activity. Cell. 1982 Oct;30(3):843–853. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(82)90289-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Journal of Bacteriology are provided here courtesy of American Society for Microbiology (ASM)

RESOURCES