title: The pcnB gene of Escherichia coli, which is required for ColE1 copy number maintenance, is dispensable.
abstract: The pcnB gene product of Escherchia coli is required for copy number maintenance of plasmids related to ColE1 and also for that of the IncFII plasmid R1. Because PcnB is similar to the tRNA-binding protein tRNA nucleotidyltransferase, we have suggested that the protein would be required only for processes in which an RNA is a prominent regulatory component. This appears to be so; strains deleted for pcnB, although defective in ColE1 and R1 plasmid maintenance, maintain the iteron-regulated plasmids F and P1 normally. We also find that strains deleted for pcnB grow normally, demonstrating that PcnB has no essential cellular role under the conditions tested and suggesting that regulation by antisense RNAs similar to RNAI has no critical role in any essential host process. We confirm by immunological tests that PcnB is likely to be the commercially available enzyme poly(A) polymerase.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Cell & Molecular Biology, University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Masters
authors.forename: M D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Colloms
authors.forename: I R
authors.initials: IR
authors.lastname: Oliver
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: He
authors.forename: E J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Macnaughton
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Charters
mesh_terms: D000667:Ampicillin / Q000494:pharmacology; D000668:Ampicillin Resistance / Q000235:genetics; D000906:Antibodies / Q000378:metabolism; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D002876:Chromosomes, Bacterial; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000378:metabolism; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins; D005144:F Factor; D017353:Gene Deletion; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D005838:Genotype; D005982:Glutathione Transferase / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D010957:Plasmids; D011062:Polynucleotide Adenylyltransferase / Q000378:metabolism; D011815:R Factors; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000302:isolation & purification; D015183:Restriction Mapping
chemical_list: D000906:Antibodies; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins; D000667:Ampicillin; D005982:Glutathione Transferase; D011062:Polynucleotide Adenylyltransferase; C063643:pcnB protein, E coli