title: Posttranscriptional regulation of EcoP1I and EcoP15I restriction activity.
abstract: Efficient establishment of a DNA restriction-modification (R-M) system in a non-modified cell requires a tight control of the potentially lethal activity of the restriction enzyme. The type III R-M systems EcoP1I and EcoP15I can be transferred to non-modified Escherichia coli cells by transfection, conjugation or transformation and become established without difficulty. Modification activity is expressed immediately after the R-M genes enter the cell, whereas the expression of restriction activity is delayed until complete protection of the cellular DNA is achieved by methylation. We have shown by Western blot analysis that the expression of the modification polypeptide subunit positively regulates the amount of restriction subunit present in the cell. The finding that ribosomal alterations affected the expression of restriction activity pointed to additional control at the translational level. The analysis of EcoP1I expression in E. coli strains mutated in either of the ribosomal proteins S12 (rpsL) or S4 (rpsD) suggests that the level of in vivo restriction activity can be modulated both by a decrease in the efficiency of translation and by varying ribosomal accuracy conditions. In addition, we have preliminary evidence from in vivo gene fusion studies that the res gene may code for more than one gene product.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology Biozentrum, Basel University, Switzerland.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Redaschi
authors.forename: T A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Bickle
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D017101:Bacteriophage P1 / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics; D001483:Base Sequence; D015263:Deoxyribonucleases, Type III Site-Specific / Q000235:genetics*; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000235:genetics* / Q000821:virology; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins; D015964:Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial; D015971:Gene Expression Regulation, Enzymologic; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D005814:Genes, Viral; D008780:Methyltransferases / Q000235:genetics*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D014176:Protein Biosynthesis; D000091243:Ribosomal Protein S9; D012269:Ribosomal Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D013307:Streptomycin / Q000494:pharmacology; D013489:Suppression, Genetic
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins; D000091243:Ribosomal Protein S9; D012269:Ribosomal Proteins; C000717190:RpsI protein, E coli; C034212:ribosomal protein S12; D008780:Methyltransferases; C030432:endodeoxyribonuclease EcoP1; C023451:endodeoxyribonuclease EcoP15I; D015263:Deoxyribonucleases, Type III Site-Specific; D013307:Streptomycin