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Promoter switching during development and the termination site of the σ43 operon of Bacillus subtilis

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Summary

Sequencing data indicated that the RNA polymerase (σ43) operon of Bacillus subtilis consisted of three genes, P23 (function unknown), dnaE (DNA primase), and rpoD (σ43) (Wang and Doi 1986a). S1 nuclease mapping experiments with RNA from various stages of growth demonstrated the presence of two overlapping σ43 promoters that controlled the expression of the operon during growth and a σ37 promoter that regulated the expression of the operon during the sporulation phase. This promoter switching mechanism ensured that this important operon would be expressed during different nutritional states of the cell and also illustrated a function for the minor RNA polymerase σ37 holoenzyme in the expression of genes which are normally expressed during the logarithmic phase of growth. The location of the transcription termination signal confirmed that the σ43 operon consists of three genes.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of California, 95616, Davis, CA, USA

    Lin-Fa Wang & Roy H. Doi

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  1. Lin-Fa Wang
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  2. Roy H. Doi
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Communicated by M. Takanami

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Wang, LF., Doi, R.H. Promoter switching during development and the termination site of the σ43 operon of Bacillus subtilis . Mol Gen Genet 207, 114–119 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00331498

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00331498

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