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E. coli ribosomal RNA contains sequences homologous to insertion sequences IS1 and IS2

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Abstract

The insertion sequence (IS) elements, IS1 and IS2, present in multiple copies in the Escherichia coli chromosome1–3, are transposable genetic elements of known nucleotide sequence4,5. These elements can modulate gene expression6–7, but it is not known whether they normally function in genetic control. To determine whether IS elements could exert control through specific RNA transcripts, we hybridised λ NNC1857r14 (carrying IS1) and pBR322 (carrying a portion of IS2) to Northern blots8 of E. coli RNA. Regions of homology between the IS elements and ribosomal RNA were observed. Computer analysis of reported nucleotide sequences detected large segments of homology between the IS elements and both 23S and 16S rRNA. Additional homologous sequences in ΦX174 and a leader region of a ribosomal protein gene cluster were also detected. The homologous sequence between IS2 and 16S rRNA is the same sequence in ΦX174 DNA which codes for the ends of the E and D gene and the start of J. The partial IS sequences may represent silent evolutionary remnants or they could modulate the expression of genes carrying these sequences.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Molecular Biology, Division of Biological Sciences, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York, 10461

    Perry Nisen & Lucille Shapiro

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  1. Perry Nisen
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  2. Lucille Shapiro
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Nisen, P., Shapiro, L. E. coli ribosomal RNA contains sequences homologous to insertion sequences IS1 and IS2. Nature 282, 872–874 (1979). https://doi.org/10.1038/282872a0

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