Journal of Bacteriology, November 2000, p. 6027-6035, Vol. 182, No. 21
0021-9193/00/$04.00+0
Copyright © 2000, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
Department of Bacteriology1 and Department of Oncology,2 University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53706
Received 15 June 2000/Accepted 9 August 2000
Adaptation of bacterial cells to diverse habitats relies on the
ability of RNA polymerase to respond to various regulatory signals.
Some of these signals are conserved throughout evolution, whereas
others are species specific. In this study we present a comprehensive
comparative analysis of RNA polymerases from two distantly related
bacterial species, Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis, using a panel of in vitro transcription assays. We
found substantial species-specific differences in the ability of these enzymes to escape from the promoter and to recognize certain types of
elongation signals. Both enzymes responded similarly to other pause and
termination signals and to the general E. coli elongation factors NusA and GreA. We also demonstrate that, although promoter recognition depends largely on the
subunit, promoter discrimination exhibited in species-specific fashion by both RNA polymerases resides
in the core enzyme. We hypothesize that differences in signal
recognition are due to the changes in contacts made between the
and
' subunits and the downstream DNA duplex.
This article has been cited by other articles:
| Appl. Environ. Microbiol. | Infect. Immun. | Eukaryot. Cell |
|---|---|---|
| Mol. Cell. Biol. | J. Virol. | Microbiol. Mol. Biol. Rev. |
| ALL ASM JOURNALS |