Open AccessThe double mechanism of incompatibility between λ plasmids and Escherichia coli dnaA(ts) host cells
Author(s) -
Monika Glinkowska,
Grażyna Konopa,
Alicja Węgrzyn,
Anna Herman-Antosiewicz,
Christoph Weigel,
Harald Seitz,
Walter Messer,
Grzegorz Węgrzyn
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.019
H-Index - 179
eISSN - 1465-2080
pISSN - 1350-0872
DOI - 10.1099/00221287-147-7-1923
Subject(s) - dnaa , dnab helicase , plasmid , escherichia coli , biology , mutant , dna replication , origin of replication , microbiology and biotechnology , dna , helicase , genetics , gene , rna
For plasmids derived from bacteriophage lambda, the initiation of bidirectional DNA replication from orilambda depends on the stimulation of transcription from the p(R) promoter by the host replication initiator protein DnaA. Certain Escherichia coli dnaA(ts) mutants cannot be transformed by wild-type lambda plasmids even at the temperature permissive to cell growth. This plasmid-host incompatibility appeared to be due to inefficient stimulation of transcription from the p(R) promoter by the mutant DnaA protein. This paper shows that there is a second mechanism for the incompatibility between lambda plasmids and dnaA(ts) hosts, exemplified in this study by the dnaA46 mutant. This is based on the competition between the lambda P protein and the host DnaA and DnaC proteins for DnaB helicase. Both mechanisms must be operative for the incompatibility.