title: Characterization of the primary immunity region of the Escherichia coli linear plasmid prophage N15.
abstract: N15 is the only bacteriophage of Escherichia coli known to lysogenize as a linear plasmid. Clear-plaque mutations lie in at least two regions of the 46-kb genome. We have cloned, sequenced, and characterized the primary immunity region, immB. This region contains a gene, cB, whose product shows homology to lambdoid phage repressors. The cB3 mutation confers thermoinducibility on N15 lysogens, consistent with CB being the primary repressor of N15. Downstream of cB lies the locus of N15 plasmid replication. Upstream of cB lies an operon predicted to encode two products: one homologous to the late repressor of P22 (Cro), the other homologous to the late antiterminator of phi 82 (Q). The Q-like protein is essential for phage development. We show that CB protein regulates the expression of genes that flank the cB gene by binding to DNA at symmetric 16-bp sites. Three sites are clustered upstream of cB and overlap a predicted promoter of the cro and Q-like genes as well as two predicted promoters of cB itself. Two sites downstream of cB overlap a predicted promoter of a plasmid replication gene, repA, consistent with the higher copy number of the mutant, N15cB3. The leader region of repA contains terminators in both orientations and a putative promoter. The organization of these regulatory elements suggests that N15 plasmid replication is controlled not only by CB but also by an antisense RNA and by a balance between termination and antitermination.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Biochemistry, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892-4255, USA. lobockam@dc37a.nci.nih.gov
authors.forename: M B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Lobocka
authors.forename: A N
authors.initials: AN
authors.lastname: Svarchevsky
authors.forename: V N
authors.initials: VN
authors.lastname: Rybchin
authors.forename: M B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Yarmolinsky
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001483:Base Sequence; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D003090:Coliphages / Q000235:genetics*; D017124:Conserved Sequence; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000821:virology*; D015967:Gene Expression Regulation, Viral; D005814:Genes, Viral; D008242:Lysogeny / Q000235:genetics*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009154:Mutation; D009875:Operator Regions, Genetic; D010957:Plasmids / Q000235:genetics*; D011533:Proviruses / Q000235:genetics*; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D012689:Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid; D014764:Viral Proteins / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: C099483:CB protein, N15 bacteriophage; D014764:Viral Proteins