Nucleotide sequence of the fadR gene, a multifunctional regulator of fatty acid metabolism in Escherichia coli

Authors

Concetta C. DiRusso, Center for Metabolic Disease, Ordway Research InstituteFollow

Date of this Version

1988

Citation

Nucleic Acids Research Volume 16 Number 16 1988

Comments

© I R L Press Limited, Oxford, England.

Abstract

The Escherichia coli fadR gene is a multifunctional regulator of fatty acid

and acetate metabolism. In the present work the nucleotide sequence of the

1.3 kb DNA fragment which encodes FadR has been determined. The coding

sequence of the fadR gene is 714 nucleotides long and is preceded by a typical

E. coli ribosome binding site and is followed by a sequence predicted to be

sufficient for factor-independent chain termination. Primer extension experiments

demonstrated that the transcription of the fadR gene initiates with an

adenine nucleotide 33 nucleotides upstream from the predicted start of

translation. The derived fadR peptide has a calculated molecular weight of

26,972. This is in reasonable agreement with the apparent molecular weight

of 29,000 previously estimated on the basis of maxi-cell analysis of plasmid

encoded proteins. There is a segment of twenty amino acids within the

predicted peptide which resembles the DNA recognition and binding site of

many transcriptional regulatory proteins.