Summary
The 80 000 x g supernatants of spinach leaf homogenates contain polypeptides that are immunologically related to the ββ′, α and σ subunits of Escherichia coli RNA polymerase. The σ-like (90 kDa and 33 kDa) and α-like (38 kDa) polypeptides are separated from ββ′-like ones by chromatography on Heparin-Sepharose or Servacel-PEI. If a protein fraction containing the α- and σ-like polypeptides is added to transcriptionally active purified chloroplast polymerase (consisting of the ββ′-like 150/145 kDa and 80 kDa polypeptides and the 110/102 kDa polypeptides the latter two being not homologous to polypeptides of E. coli polymerase) a correct initiation and transcription of the spinach chloroplast rbcL gene is obtained. Chloroplast protein fractions containing the σ-like polypeptide(s) also enhance correct transcription initiation when they are combined with E. coli RNA polymerase.
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Communicated by R.G. Herrmann
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Lerbs, S., Bräutigam, E. & Mache, R. DNA-dependent RNA polymerase of spinach chloroplasts: Characterization of α-like and σ-like polypeptides. Molec. Gen. Genet. 211, 459–464 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00425701
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00425701