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Promoters in the E. coli replication origin

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Abstract

Chromosomal replication in Escherichia coli initiates at a particular sequence in the parental DNA called the origin of replication (oriC) and proceeds bidirectionally1. Initiation requires the interaction of various factors at a given time within the cell cycle, including RNA polymerase2,3. Recently, mini-chromosomes have been constructed4–6 and partially sequenced7,8 whose replication proved also to be dependent on a rifampicin-sensitive host function in addition to the products of several initiation genes6,9. Using one of these mini-chromosomes, pCM9596,8, we have searched for promoters in and close to oriC to elucidate the role of RNA polymerase in the initiation of replication. We have found, by in vitro transcription experiments and RNA sequencing, that the DNA segment required for the start of bidirectional replication in E. coli contains two promoters arranged back-to-back. The location and arrangement of these promoters suggest an involvement in the initiation of replication.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Max-Planck-Institut für molekulare Genetik, Abt. Trautner, Ihnestrasse 63/73, D-1000, Berlin, 33, FRG

    Heinz Lother & Walter Messer

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  1. Heinz Lother
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  2. Walter Messer
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Lother, H., Messer, W. Promoters in the E. coli replication origin. Nature 294, 376–378 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1038/294376a0

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