Promoter region of the Escherichia coli O7-specific lipopolysaccharide gene cluster: structural and functional characterization of an upstream untranslated mRNA sequence.

ABSTRACT: We report the identification of the promoter region of the Escherichia coli O7-specific lipopolysaccharide (LPS) gene cluster (wbEcO7). Typical -10 and -35 sequences were found to be located in the intervening region between galF and rlmB, the first gene of the wbEcO7 cluster. Data from RNase protection experiments revealed the existence of an untranslated leader mRNA segment of 173 bp, including the JUMPStart and two ops sequences. We characterized the structure of this leader mRNA by using the program Mfold and a combination of nested and internal deletions transcriptionally fused to a promoterless lac operon. Our results indicated that the leader mRNA may fold into a series of complex stem-loop structures, one of which includes the JUMPStart element. We have also found that one of the o

SUBMITTER: Marolda CL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC107806 | biostudies-literature | 1998 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature