title: Positioning and the specific sequence of each 13-mer motif are critical for activity of the plasmid RK2 replication origin.
abstract: The minimal replication origin of the broad-host-range plasmid RK2, oriV, contains five iterons which are binding sites for the plasmid-encoded replication initiation protein TrfA, four DnaA boxes, which bind the host DnaA protein, and an AT-rich region containing four 13-mer sequences. In this study, 26 mutants with altered sequence and/or spacing of 13-mer motifs have been constructed and analysed for replication activity in vivo and in vitro. The data show that the replacement of oriV 13-mers by similar but not identical 13-mer sequences from Escherichia coli oriC inactivates the origin. In addition, interchanging the positions of the oriV 13-mers results in greatly reduced activity. Mutants with T/A substitutions are also inactive. Furthermore, introduction of single-nucleotide substitutions demonstrates very restricted sequence requirements depending on the 13-mer position. Only two of the mutants are host specific, functional in Pseudomonas aeruginosa but not in E. coli. Our experiments demonstrate considerable complexity in the plasmid AT-rich region architecture required for functionality. It is evident that low internal stability of this region is not the only feature contributing to origin activity. Our studies suggest a requirement for sequence-specific protein interactions within the 13-mers during assembly of replication complexes at the plasmid origin.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Intercollegiate Faculty of Biotechnology, University of Gdansk, ul. Kladki 24, 80-822 Gdansk, Poland.
authors.forename: Lukasz
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Kowalczyk
authors.forename: Magdalena
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rajewska
authors.forename: Igor
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Konieczny
mesh_terms: D001483:Base Sequence; D004261:DNA Replication; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000235:genetics*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009154:Mutation; D010957:Plasmids / Q000235:genetics*; D011550:Pseudomonas aeruginosa / Q000235:genetics; D018741:Replication Origin / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial