Summary
A restriction fragment enrichment procedure was devised for the identification and cloning of the gene for protein synthesis elongation factor Tu (EF-Tu) from Methanococcus vannielii, employing hybridisation with an internal tufB gene probe from Escherichia coli. Methanococcus contains a single tuf gene on its chromosome; it is expressed in E. coli and it codes for a polypeptide of 46.5 kDa. The overall architecture of the protein bears a striking resemblance to that of eukaryotic elongation factor 1α (EF-1α). The close similarity to EF-1α is supported by the sequence homology values which are in the range of 34% to 35% with eubacterial, plastid and mitochondrial EF-Tu sequences and as high as 52% to 54% with those from eukaryotic EF-1α.
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Lechner, K., Böck, A. Cloning and nucleotide sequence of the gene for an archaebacterial protein synthesis elongation factor Tu. Mol Gen Genet 208, 523–528 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00328150
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00328150