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Suppression of promoter mutations by the pleiotropic supX mutations

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Summary

Mutations of the supX locus in S. typhimurium display multiple pleiotropy. The supX mutation, which can occur as a deletion or a point mutation, suppresses the promoter-like mutation leu-500 and promoter mutations of the lac operon and increases the cell doubling time. The presence of the supX mutation in a strain infected with P22 phage increases the frequency of lysis relative to lysogeny. The supX mutation confers low-level resistance to streptomycin, kanamycin and neomycin and substantially increases the specific activity of alkaline phosphatase. Suppression by supX is unlike that of most known types of suppressor mutations. It may act by affecting the initiation mechanism of either transcription or translation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Genetics, The Public Health Research Institute of the City of New York, Inc., New York

    Eugenie Dubnau & P. Margolin

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  1. Eugenie Dubnau
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  2. P. Margolin
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Communicated by W. Maas

This investigation was supported by U. S. Public Health Service research grant GM-15255 from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences.

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Dubnau, E., Margolin, P. Suppression of promoter mutations by the pleiotropic supX mutations. Molec. Gen. Genet. 117, 91–112 (1972). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00267607

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00267607

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