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J. Bacteriol., Apr 1996, 2375-2382, Vol 178, No. 8
W Wang and DH Bechhofer
The pnpA gene of Bacillus subtilis, which codes for polynucleotide
phosphorylase (PNPase), has been cloned and employed in the construction of
pnpA deletion mutants. Growth defects of both B. subtilis and Escherichia
coli PNPase-deficient strains were complemented with the cloned pnpA gene.
RNA decay characteristics of the B. subtilis pnpA mutant were studied,
including the in vivo decay of bulk mRNA and the in vitro decay of either
poly(A) or total cellular RNA. The results showed that mRNA decay in the
pnpA mutant is accomplished despite the absence of the major, Pi-dependent
RNA decay activity of PNPase. In vitro experiments suggested that a
previously identified, Mn2+ -dependent hydrolytic activity was important
for decay in the pnpA mutant. In addition to a cold-sensitive-growth
phenotype, the pnpA deletion mutant was found to be sensitive to growth in
the presence of tetracycline, and this was due to an increased
intracellular accumulation of the drug. The pnpA deletion strain also
exhibited multiseptate, filamentous growth. It is hypothesized that
defective processing of specific RNAs in the pnpA mutant results in these
phenotypes.
Copyright © 1996, American Society for Microbiology
Properties of a Bacillus subtilis polynucleotide phosphorylase deletion strain
Department of Biochemistry, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York 10029, USA.
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