Skip to main content

Some NLM-NCBI services and products are experiencing heavy traffic, which may affect performance and availability. We apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate your patience. For assistance, please contact our Help Desk at info@ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.

Journal of Bacteriology logoLink to Journal of Bacteriology
. 1984 Aug;159(2):750–756. doi: 10.1128/jb.159.2.750-756.1984

Selection of lac gene fusions in vivo: ompR-lacZ fusions that define a functional domain of the ompR gene product.

M L Berman, D E Jackson
PMCID: PMC215709  PMID: 6086585

Abstract

We describe a simple method for selecting Escherichia coli mutants that carry gene fusions between a cloned gene and lacZ. We test this technique with the ompR gene, which codes for a positive regulatory factor in porin synthesis. A number of OmpR-LacZ hybrid proteins are examined, and several unusual phenotypes associated with these protein fusions are described. Evidence is presented to support the two-domain model for ompR proposed previously (Hall and Silhavy, J. Mol. Biol. 151:1-15). In addition, one of the ompR-lacZ fusions exhibits a dominant OmpR- phenotype. The utility of isolating a series of lacZ gene fusions to any target gene is discussed.

Full text

PDF
750

Images in this article

Selected References

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

  1. Albertini A. M., Hofer M., Calos M. P., Miller J. H. On the formation of spontaneous deletions: the importance of short sequence homologies in the generation of large deletions. Cell. 1982 Jun;29(2):319–328. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(82)90148-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Bolivar F., Rodriguez R. L., Greene P. J., Betlach M. C., Heyneker H. L., Boyer H. W., Crosa J. H., Falkow S. Construction and characterization of new cloning vehicles. II. A multipurpose cloning system. Gene. 1977;2(2):95–113. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Büchel D. E., Gronenborn B., Müller-Hill B. Sequence of the lactose permease gene. Nature. 1980 Feb 7;283(5747):541–545. doi: 10.1038/283541a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Casadaban M. J., Chou J., Cohen S. N. In vitro gene fusions that join an enzymatically active beta-galactosidase segment to amino-terminal fragments of exogenous proteins: Escherichia coli plasmid vectors for the detection and cloning of translational initiation signals. J Bacteriol. 1980 Aug;143(2):971–980. doi: 10.1128/jb.143.2.971-980.1980. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Casadaban M. J., Cohen S. N. Analysis of gene control signals by DNA fusion and cloning in Escherichia coli. J Mol Biol. 1980 Apr;138(2):179–207. doi: 10.1016/0022-2836(80)90283-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Casadaban M. J., Cohen S. N. Lactose genes fused to exogenous promoters in one step using a Mu-lac bacteriophage: in vivo probe for transcriptional control sequences. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1979 Sep;76(9):4530–4533. doi: 10.1073/pnas.76.9.4530. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Casadaban M. J., Martinez-Arias A., Shapira S. K., Chou J. Beta-galactosidase gene fusions for analyzing gene expression in escherichia coli and yeast. Methods Enzymol. 1983;100:293–308. doi: 10.1016/0076-6879(83)00063-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. 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]
  9. Emr S. D., Silhavy T. J. Mutations affecting localization of an Escherichia coli outer membrane protein, the bacteriophage lambda receptor. J Mol Biol. 1980 Jul 25;141(1):63–90. doi: 10.1016/s0022-2836(80)80029-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Germino J., Bastia D. The replication initiator protein of plasmid R6K tagged with beta-galactosidase shows sequence-specific DNA-binding. Cell. 1983 Jan;32(1):131–140. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(83)90503-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Gray H. B., Jr, Ostrander D. A., Hodnett J. L., Legerski R. J., Robberson D. L. Extracellular nucleases of Pseudomonas BAL 31. I. Characterization of single strand-specific deoxyriboendonuclease and double-strand deoxyriboexonuclease activities. Nucleic Acids Res. 1975 Sep;2(9):1459–1492. doi: 10.1093/nar/2.9.1459. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Gray M. R., Colot H. V., Guarente L., Rosbash M. Open reading frame cloning: identification, cloning, and expression of open reading frame DNA. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1982 Nov;79(21):6598–6602. doi: 10.1073/pnas.79.21.6598. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Hall M. N., Silhavy T. J. Genetic analysis of the ompB locus in Escherichia coli K-12. J Mol Biol. 1981 Sep 5;151(1):1–15. doi: 10.1016/0022-2836(81)90218-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Hall M. N., Silhavy T. J. The ompB locus and the regulation of the major outer membrane porin proteins of Escherichia coli K12. J Mol Biol. 1981 Feb 15;146(1):23–43. doi: 10.1016/0022-2836(81)90364-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Hall M. N., Silhavy T. J. Transcriptional regulation of Escherichia coli K-12 major outer membrane protein 1b. J Bacteriol. 1979 Nov;140(2):342–350. doi: 10.1128/jb.140.2.342-350.1979. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Hui I., Maltman K., Little R., Hastrup S., Johnsen M., Fiil N., Dennis P. Insertions of transposon Tn5 into ribosomal protein PNA polymerase operons. J Bacteriol. 1982 Dec;152(3):1022–1032. doi: 10.1128/jb.152.3.1022-1032.1982. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Kalnins A., Otto K., Rüther U., Müller-Hill B. Sequence of the lacZ gene of Escherichia coli. EMBO J. 1983;2(4):593–597. doi: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1983.tb01468.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Miller J. H., Reznikoff W. S., Silverstone A. E., Ippen K., Signer E. R., Beckwith J. R. Fusions of the lac and trp Regions of the Escherichia coli Chromosome. J Bacteriol. 1970 Dec;104(3):1273–1279. doi: 10.1128/jb.104.3.1273-1279.1970. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Mitchell D. H., Reznikoff W. S., Beckwith J. R. Genetic fusions defining trp and lac operon regulatory elements. J Mol Biol. 1975 Apr 15;93(3):331–350. doi: 10.1016/0022-2836(75)90281-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Müller-Hill B., Kania J. Lac repressor can be fused to beta-galactosidase. Nature. 1974 Jun 7;249(457):561–563. doi: 10.1038/249561a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Peden K. W. Revised sequence of the tetracycline-resistance gene of pBR322. Gene. 1983 May-Jun;22(2-3):277–280. doi: 10.1016/0378-1119(83)90112-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Sarma V., Reeves P. Genetic locus (ompB) affecting a major outer-membrane protein in Escherichia coli K-12. J Bacteriol. 1977 Oct;132(1):23–27. doi: 10.1128/jb.132.1.23-27.1977. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Shultz J., Silhavy T. J., Berman M. L., Fiil N., Emr S. D. A previously unidentified gene in the spc operon of Escherichia coli K12 specifies a component of the protein export machinery. Cell. 1982 Nov;31(1):227–235. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(82)90422-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. Taylor R. K., Hall M. N., Enquist L., Silhavy T. J. Identification of OmpR: a positive regulatory protein controlling expression of the major outer membrane matrix porin proteins of Escherichia coli K-12. J Bacteriol. 1981 Jul;147(1):255–258. doi: 10.1128/jb.147.1.255-258.1981. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  25. Travers A. A., Lamond A. I., Mace H. A., Berman M. L. RNA polymerase interactions with the upstream region of the E. coli tyrT promoter. Cell. 1983 Nov;35(1):265–273. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(83)90229-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  26. Weinstock G. M., Berman M. L., Silhavy T. J. Chimeric genetics with beta-galactosidase. Gene Amplif Anal. 1983;3:27–64. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  27. Weinstock G. M., ap Rhys C., Berman M. L., Hampar B., Jackson D., Silhavy T. J., Weisemann J., Zweig M. Open reading frame expression vectors: a general method for antigen production in Escherichia coli using protein fusions to beta-galactosidase. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1983 Jul;80(14):4432–4436. doi: 10.1073/pnas.80.14.4432. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  28. Wurtzel E. T., Chou M. Y., Inouye M. Osmoregulation of gene expression. I. DNA sequence of the ompR gene of the ompB operon of Escherichia coli and characterization of its gene product. J Biol Chem. 1982 Nov 25;257(22):13685–13691. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  29. Zabin I. beta-Galactosidase alpha-complementation. A model of protein-protein interaction. Mol Cell Biochem. 1982 Nov 26;49(2):87–96. doi: 10.1007/BF00242487. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

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

RESOURCES