Genetic studies have shown that expression of the E. coli threonyl-tRNA synthetase (thrS) gene is negatively auto-regulated at the translational level. A region called the operator, located 110 nucleotides downstream of the 5′ end of the mRNA and between 10 and 50bp upstream of the translational initiation codon in the thrS gene, is directly involved in that control. The conformation of an in vitro RNA fragment extending over the thrS regulatory region has been investigated with chemical and enzymatic probes. The operator locus displays structural similarities to the anti-codon arm of threonyl tRNA. The conformation of 3 constitutent mutants containing single base changes in the operator region shows that replacement of a base in the anti-codon-like loop does not induce any conformational change, suggesting that the residue concerned is directly involved in regulation. However mutation in or close to the anti-codon-like stem results in a partial or complete rearrangement of the structure of the operator region. Further experiments indicate that there is a clear correlation between the way the synthetase recognises each operator, causing translational repression, and threonyl-tRNA.
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December 01 1988
Translational control in E. coli: The case of threonyl-tRNA synthetase
Mathias Springer;
Mathias Springer
1Institut de Biologie Physico-Chimique, 13 rue Pierre et Marie Curie, 75005 Paris, France
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Monique Graffe;
Monique Graffe
1Institut de Biologie Physico-Chimique, 13 rue Pierre et Marie Curie, 75005 Paris, France
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Jacques Dondon;
Jacques Dondon
1Institut de Biologie Physico-Chimique, 13 rue Pierre et Marie Curie, 75005 Paris, France
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Marianne Grunberg-Manago;
Marianne Grunberg-Manago
1Institut de Biologie Physico-Chimique, 13 rue Pierre et Marie Curie, 75005 Paris, France
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Pascale Romby;
Pascale Romby
2Institut de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire, 15 rue René Descartes, 67084 Strasbourg Cedex, France
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Bernard Ehresmann;
Bernard Ehresmann
2Institut de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire, 15 rue René Descartes, 67084 Strasbourg Cedex, France
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Chantal Ehresmann;
Chantal Ehresmann
2Institut de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire, 15 rue René Descartes, 67084 Strasbourg Cedex, France
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Jean-Pierre Ebel
Jean-Pierre Ebel
2Institut de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire, 15 rue René Descartes, 67084 Strasbourg Cedex, France
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Publisher: Portland Press Ltd
Online ISSN: 1573-4935
Print ISSN: 0144-8463
© 1988 Plenum Publishing Corporation
1988
Biosci Rep (1988) 8 (6): 619–632.
Citation
Mathias Springer, Monique Graffe, Jacques Dondon, Marianne Grunberg-Manago, Pascale Romby, Bernard Ehresmann, Chantal Ehresmann, Jean-Pierre Ebel; Translational control in E. coli: The case of threonyl-tRNA synthetase. Biosci Rep 1 December 1988; 8 (6): 619–632. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01117341
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