title: Expression of the Prevotella loescheii adhesin gene (plaA) is mediated by a programmed frameshifting hop.
abstract: The 2.4-kb plaA gene, which encodes a Prevotella loescheii galactoside-specific adhesin, contains a programmed frameshifting hop. The frameshift region consists of two UAA termination codons, two repeats of four identical bases between the terminators, and a stem-loop structure that has the potential to form a pseudoknot located downstream from the second UAA. The stem-loop and pseudoknot are features found in a number of retroviruses where frameshifting is a more common occurrence. The terminators, sequence repeats, and secondary structures were identified in both the P. loescheii plaA gene and the mRNA transcript. An in-frame fusion of the entire plaA frameshift region between codons 9 and 10 of the lacZ gene permitted relatively efficient expression (4 to 25% of that of the control) of beta-galactosidase in Escherichia coli.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Microbial Ecology, National Institute of Dental Research, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892.
authors.forename: J N
authors.initials: JN
authors.lastname: Manch-Citron
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: London
mesh_terms: D018829:Adhesins, Bacterial; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001419:Bacteria / Q000235:genetics*; D001422:Bacterial Adhesion / Q000235:genetics; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics*; D001483:Base Sequence; D015964:Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial; D005798:Genes, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics*; D017930:Genes, Reporter; D007763:Lac Operon; D037102:Lectins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics*; D008957:Models, Genetic; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009690:Nucleic Acid Conformation; D016364:Reading Frames / Q000235:genetics*; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis
chemical_list: D018829:Adhesins, Bacterial; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D037102:Lectins; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins; C086517:plaA protein, Prevotella loescheii