Negative complementation of recA protein by recA1 polypeptide: in vivo recombination requires a multimeric form of recA protein.
Recombination in vivo was studied in recA- heterozygous lacZ merodiploids by performing beta-galactosidase assays after infection with lambda precA+. Recombination as measured by beta-galactosidase production was a linear function of lambda pecA+ multiplicity of infection (MOI) when the strain contained a deletion of the chromosomal recA gene. However, when the strain carried a recA1 missense allele, a higher lambda precA+ MOI was required to obtain levels of recombination comparable to the delta (recA) strain, and the slope of the dose-response curve increased to approximately two. It is proposed that negative complementation occurs in mixed tetramers of wild-type and missense recA polypeptides, and that in vivo recombination is a property of a multimeric form of recA protein.
D000483:Alleles; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000235:genetics*; D005696:Galactosidases / Q000235:genetics*; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D005816:Genetic Complementation Test; D005838:Genotype; D011938:Rec A Recombinases / Q000235:genetics*; D011995:Recombination, Genetic; D001616:beta-Galactosidase / Q000235:genetics*
D011938:Rec A Recombinases; D005696:Galactosidases; D001616:beta-Galactosidase