This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Reprints and Permissions Copyright Information Books from ASM Press MicrobeWorld Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Shepherd, N S Articles by Bremer, H Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Shepherd, N S Articles by Bremer, H

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

J Bacteriol. 1980 March; 141(3): 1098-1108

Synthesis and activity of ribonucleic acid polymerase in Escherichia coli.

ABSTRACT

The amounts of ribonucleic acid (RNA) polymerase (beta' subunits) and ribosomes (RNA), and the fraction of RNA polymerase actively engaged in transcription, were measured in Escherichia coli B/r as a function of growth rate. By an improved method of quantitating protein bands on electrophoresis gels, the systematic error and reproducibility of the RNA polymerase determination were estimated to be less than 15 and 6%, respectively. For a threefold increase in growth rate, the fractional synthesis of polymerase (relative to protein) increased 1.5-fold, whereas the fractional synthesis of ribosomal protein increased 2.2-fold. The decrease in the amount of RNA polymerase per ribosome with increasing growth rate is interpreted as an expression of the control of the transcriptional read-through from the genes for ribosomal protein, rplJ,L, to the adjacent genes for RNA polymerase subunits, rpoB,C. The number of active RNA polymerase molecules was determined from the synthesis rates of stable and messenger RNA and the known RNA chain growth rates. Comparison of active and total RNA polymerase indicates that the fraction of active enzyme increases from 20 to 30% in the range of growth rates between 0.6 and 2.0 doublings per hour. Possible causes for the inactive enzyme are discussed.

This article has been cited by other articles:

• Dennis, P. P., Ehrenberg, M., Bremer, H. (2004). Control of rRNA Synthesis in Escherichia coli: a Systems Biology Approach. Microbiol. Mol. Biol. Rev. 68: 639-668 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Shepherd, N., Dennis, P., Bremer, H. (2001). Cytoplasmic RNA Polymerase in Escherichia coli. J. Bacteriol. 183: 2527-2534 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Bipatnath, M., Dennis, P. P., Bremer, H. (1998). Initiation and Velocity of Chromosome Replication in Escherichia coli B/r and K-12. J. Bacteriol. 180: 265-273 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Tedin, K., Blasi, U. (1996). The RNA Chain Elongation Rate of the lambda Late mRNA Is Unaffected by High Levels of ppGpp in the Absence of Amino Acid Starvation. J. Biol. Chem. 271: 17675-17686 [Abstract] [Full Text]