Skip to main content
Journal of Bacteriology logoLink to Journal of Bacteriology
. 1985 Mar;161(3):1201–1208. doi: 10.1128/jb.161.3.1201-1208.1985

Essential and nonessential sequences in malPp, a positively controlled promoter in Escherichia coli.

O Raibaud, C Gutierrez, M Schwartz
PMCID: PMC215027  PMID: 3156124

Abstract

A plasmid bearing the malPp promoter was digested with Bal31 to obtain a set of deletions with closely spaced endpoints in the upstream region of this promoter. Some of these deletions were sequenced, and their effect on malPQ expression was determined after having transferred them onto the chromosome. We found that a site which binds the cyclic AMP receptor protein in vitro and which is centered at position -93 with respect to the site of transcription initiation could be deleted without affecting malPQ expression. In contrast, the activity of the malPp promoter decreased abruptly when the deletions reached position -72. The downstream region of the promoter was analyzed by using a technique of "sequence replacement" which involved the selection of Mal+ pseudorevertants from strains which carried small deletions in the -25 region. The pseudorevertants, which expressed the malPQ operon in a manner indistinguishable from wild type, had grossly different sequences downstream from position -38, except for a few positions, some of which must be important for promoter function. By combining all presently available information, it is suggested that the malPp promoter contains three binding sites for its activator, the product of gene malT. These sites are defined by three quasi-identical hexanucleotides present in one orientation around position -37 and twice in the other orientation around positions -60 and -73.

Full text

PDF
1201

Images in this article

Selected References

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

  1. Bachmann B. J., Low K. B. Linkage map of Escherichia coli K-12, edition 6. Microbiol Rev. 1980 Mar;44(1):1–56. doi: 10.1128/mr.44.1.1-56.1980. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Bedouelle H. Mutations in the promoter regions of the malEFG and malK-lamB operons of Escherichia coli K12. J Mol Biol. 1983 Nov 15;170(4):861–882. doi: 10.1016/s0022-2836(83)80192-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Bedouelle H., Schmeissner U., Hofnung M., Rosenberg M. Promoters of the malEFG and malK-lamB operons in Escherichia coli K12. J Mol Biol. 1982 Nov 15;161(4):519–531. doi: 10.1016/0022-2836(82)90405-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Blazy B., Takahashi M., Baudras A. Binding of CRP to DNA-dependent RNA polymerase from E. coli: modulation by cAMP of the interactions with free and DNA-bound holo and core enzyme. Mol Biol Rep. 1980 Mar 31;6(1):39–43. doi: 10.1007/BF00775753. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Casadaban M. J. Transposition and fusion of the lac genes to selected promoters in Escherichia coli using bacteriophage lambda and Mu. J Mol Biol. 1976 Jul 5;104(3):541–555. doi: 10.1016/0022-2836(76)90119-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Chapon C. Expression of malT, the regulator gene of the maltose region in Escherichia coli, is limited both at transcription and translation. EMBO J. 1982;1(3):369–374. doi: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1982.tb01176.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Chapon C., Kolb A. Action of CAP on the malT promoter in vitro. J Bacteriol. 1983 Dec;156(3):1135–1143. doi: 10.1128/jb.156.3.1135-1143.1983. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Chapon C. Role of the catabolite activator protein in the maltose regulon of Escherichia coli. J Bacteriol. 1982 May;150(2):722–729. doi: 10.1128/jb.150.2.722-729.1982. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Donahue T. F., Daves R. S., Lucchini G., Fink G. R. A short nucleotide sequence required for regulation of HIS4 by the general control system of yeast. Cell. 1983 Jan;32(1):89–98. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(83)90499-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Dynan W. S., Tjian R. The promoter-specific transcription factor Sp1 binds to upstream sequences in the SV40 early promoter. Cell. 1983 Nov;35(1):79–87. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(83)90210-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Débarbouillé M., Raibaud O. Expression of the Escherichia coli malPQ operon remains unaffected after drastic alteration of its promoter. J Bacteriol. 1983 Mar;153(3):1221–1227. doi: 10.1128/jb.153.3.1221-1227.1983. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Débarbouillé M., Schwartz M. Mutants which make more malT product, the activator of the maltose regulon in Escherichia coli. Mol Gen Genet. 1980;178(3):589–595. doi: 10.1007/BF00337865. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Débarbouillé M., Shuman H. A., Silhavy T. J., Schwartz M. Dominant constitutive mutations in malT, the positive regulator gene of the maltose regulon in Escherichia coli. J Mol Biol. 1978 Sep 15;124(2):359–371. doi: 10.1016/0022-2836(78)90304-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Fried M., Crothers D. M. Equilibria and kinetics of lac repressor-operator interactions by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Nucleic Acids Res. 1981 Dec 11;9(23):6505–6525. doi: 10.1093/nar/9.23.6505. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Garner M. M., Revzin A. A gel electrophoresis method for quantifying the binding of proteins to specific DNA regions: application to components of the Escherichia coli lactose operon regulatory system. Nucleic Acids Res. 1981 Jul 10;9(13):3047–3060. doi: 10.1093/nar/9.13.3047. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Gluzman Y., Frisque R. J., Sambrook J. Origin-defective mutants of SV40. Cold Spring Harb Symp Quant Biol. 1980;44(Pt 1):293–300. doi: 10.1101/sqb.1980.044.01.033. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Gutierrez C., Raibaud O. Point mutations that reduce the expression of malPQ, a positively controlled operon of Escherichia coli. J Mol Biol. 1984 Jul 25;177(1):69–86. doi: 10.1016/0022-2836(84)90058-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Hawley D. K., McClure W. R. The effect of a lambda repressor mutation on the activation of transcription initiation from the lambda PRM promoter. Cell. 1983 Feb;32(2):327–333. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(83)90452-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Ho Y. S., Wulff D. L., Rosenberg M. Bacteriophage lambda protein cII binds promoters on the opposite face of the DNA helix from RNA polymerase. Nature. 1983 Aug 25;304(5928):703–708. doi: 10.1038/304703a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Hochschild A., Irwin N., Ptashne M. Repressor structure and the mechanism of positive control. Cell. 1983 Feb;32(2):319–325. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(83)90451-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Kolb A., Busby S., Herbert M., Kotlarz D., Buc H. Comparison of the binding sites for the Escherichia coli cAMP receptor protein at the lactose and galactose promoters. EMBO J. 1983;2(2):217–222. doi: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1983.tb01408.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Kolb A., Spassky A., Chapon C., Blazy B., Buc H. On the different binding affinities of CRP at the lac, gal and malT promoter regions. Nucleic Acids Res. 1983 Nov 25;11(22):7833–7852. doi: 10.1093/nar/11.22.7833. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. LOWRY O. H., ROSEBROUGH N. J., FARR A. L., RANDALL R. J. Protein measurement with the Folin phenol reagent. J Biol Chem. 1951 Nov;193(1):265–275. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. Maxam A. M., Gilbert W. Sequencing end-labeled DNA with base-specific chemical cleavages. Methods Enzymol. 1980;65(1):499–560. doi: 10.1016/s0076-6879(80)65059-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  25. Mekalanos J. J., Swartz D. J., Pearson G. D., Harford N., Groyne F., de Wilde M. Cholera toxin genes: nucleotide sequence, deletion analysis and vaccine development. Nature. 1983 Dec 8;306(5943):551–557. doi: 10.1038/306551a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  26. Palmer T. N., Ryman B. E., Whelan W. J. The action pattern of amylomaltase from Escherichia coli. Eur J Biochem. 1976 Oct 1;69(1):105–115. doi: 10.1111/j.1432-1033.1976.tb10863.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  27. Raibaud O., Débarbouillé M., Schwartz M. Use of deletions created in vitro to map transcriptional regulatory signals in the malA region of Escherichia coli. J Mol Biol. 1983 Jan 25;163(3):395–408. doi: 10.1016/0022-2836(83)90065-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  28. Raibaud O., Mock M., Schwartz M. A technique for integrating any DNA fragment into the chromosome of Escherichia coli. Gene. 1984 Jul-Aug;29(1-2):231–241. doi: 10.1016/0378-1119(84)90183-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  29. Raibaud O., Schwartz M. Positive control of transcription initiation in bacteria. Annu Rev Genet. 1984;18:173–206. doi: 10.1146/annurev.ge.18.120184.001133. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  30. Raibaud O., Schwartz M. Restriction map of the Escherichia coli malA region and identification of the malT product. J Bacteriol. 1980 Aug;143(2):761–771. doi: 10.1128/jb.143.2.761-771.1980. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  31. Rüther U., Koenen M., Otto K., Müller-Hill B. pUR222, a vector for cloning and rapid chemical sequencing of DNA. Nucleic Acids Res. 1981 Aug 25;9(16):4087–4098. doi: 10.1093/nar/9.16.4087. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  32. Schwartz M. Expression phénotypique et localisation génétique de mutations affectant le métabolisme du maltose chez Escherichia coli K 12. Ann Inst Pasteur (Paris) 1967 Jun;112(6):673–698. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  33. Shih M. C., Gussin G. N. Differential effects of mutations on discrete steps in transcription initiation at the lambda PRE promoter. Cell. 1983 Oct;34(3):941–949. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(83)90551-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  34. Spassky A., Busby S., Buc H. On the action of the cyclic AMP-cyclic AMP receptor protein complex at the Escherichia coli lactose and galactose promoter regions. EMBO J. 1984 Jan;3(1):43–50. doi: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1984.tb01759.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  35. Stender W. Cyclic adenosine 3':5'-monophosphate receptor protein: interaction with E. coli RNA polymerase. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 1980 Sep 16;96(1):320–325. doi: 10.1016/0006-291x(80)91217-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  36. Sutcliffe J. G. Complete nucleotide sequence of the Escherichia coli plasmid pBR322. Cold Spring Harb Symp Quant Biol. 1979;43(Pt 1):77–90. doi: 10.1101/sqb.1979.043.01.013. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  37. Wu H. M., Crothers D. M. The locus of sequence-directed and protein-induced DNA bending. Nature. 1984 Apr 5;308(5959):509–513. doi: 10.1038/308509a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  38. Yaniv M. Regulation of eukaryotic gene expression by transactivating proteins and cis acting DNA elements. Biol Cell. 1984;50(3):203–216. doi: 10.1111/j.1768-322x.1984.tb00268.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  39. Yu X. M., Reznikoff W. S. Deletion analysis of the CAP-cAMP binding site of the Escherichia coli lactose promoter. Nucleic Acids Res. 1984 Jul 11;12(13):5449–5464. doi: 10.1093/nar/12.13.5449. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

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

RESOURCES