Epistatic Interactions in the Arabinose Cis-Regulatory Element.

ABSTRACT: Changes in gene expression are an important mode of evolution; however, the proximate mechanism of these changes is poorly understood. In particular, little is known about the effects of mutations within cis binding sites for transcription factors, or the nature of epistatic interactions between these mutations. Here, we tested the effects of single and double mutants in two cis binding sites involved in the transcriptional regulation of the Escherichia coli araBAD operon, a component of arabinose metabolism, using a synthetic system. This system decouples transcriptional control from any posttranslational effects on fitness, allowing a precise estimate of the effect of single and double mutations, and hence epistasis, on gene expression. We found that epistatic interactions between mutati

SUBMITTER: Lagator M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4760080 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature