title: Silencing of the gene coding for the epsilon subunit of DNA polymerase III slows down the growth rate of Escherichia coli populations.
abstract: Chromosome replication in Escherichia coli is accomplished by the multimeric enzyme DNA polymerase III; the relevance, in vivo, of the epsilon subunit (encoded by dnaQ) for processivity and fidelity of DNA polymerase III has been evaluated. To this aim, dnaQ has been conditionally silenced by means of in vivo expression of different antisense RNAs. Unexpectedly, the presence of the Shine-Dalgarno sequence is essential for the effectiveness of antisense constructs. Silencing of dnaQ induces a severe decrease in growth rate not paralleled by high mutation frequencies, suggesting that the epsilon subunit primarily affects the processivity of DNA polymerase III.
authors.affiliation: Department of Industrial Chemistry, University of Bologna, Viale Risorgimento 4, 40136 Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: Alessandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Stefan
authors.forename: Luca
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Reggiani
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cianchetta
authors.forename: Annalisa
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Radeghieri
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gonzalez Vara y Rodriguez
authors.forename: Alejandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hochkoeppler
mesh_terms: D001483:Base Sequence; D015152:Blotting, Northern; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D004258:DNA Polymerase III; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000254:growth & development*; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins; D043211:Exodeoxyribonuclease V; D005090:Exodeoxyribonucleases / Q000235:genetics*; D020868:Gene Silencing; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009690:Nucleic Acid Conformation; D016372:RNA, Antisense / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins; D016372:RNA, Antisense; D004258:DNA Polymerase III; C468316:dnaQ protein, E coli; D005090:Exodeoxyribonucleases; D043211:Exodeoxyribonuclease V