Genetic suppression analysis of sigma E interaction with three promoters in sporulating Bacillus subtilis.
Genetic evidence suggests that the sigma (sigma) subunit of RNA polymerase determines the specificity of promoter utilization, by making sequence-specific contacts with DNA. We examined the effects of two single amino acid(aa) substitutions in sigma E on the utilization of mutated derivatives of three different promoters in sporulating Bacillus subtilis. We found allele-specific suppression of mutations in all three promoters by each aa substitution in sigma E. These results provide strong evidence that sigma E interacts with each of these promoters in vivo. Moreover, the specificity of suppression of the mutations by the aa substitutions in sigma E lead us to speculate that the Met124 of sigma E closely contacts two adjacent bp in the -10 region of the promoters.
Diederich
B
B
Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30322.
Tatti
K M
KM
Jones
C H
CH
Beall
B
B
Moran
C P
CP
D000596:Amino Acids / Q000235:genetics; D001412:Bacillus subtilis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D001483:Base Sequence; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D012808:Sigma Factor / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D013171:Spores, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D013489:Suppression, Genetic
D000596:Amino Acids; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D012808:Sigma Factor