Transcription initiation and a RNA polymerase binding site upstream of the purE gene of the archaebacterium Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum strain delta H

Abstract

DNA-dependent RNA-polymerase (RNAP) purified from the thermophilic archaebacterium Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum strain delta H has been shown to bind specifically to DNA in the intergenic region upstream of the purE gene cloned from this species. The RNAP binding site has been limited to a 41 bp region of DNA which contains the Box A archaebacterial promoter sequence, 5'ATTAAATA. Transcription of the purE gene appears to initiate in vivo at three locations 20-22 bp downstream of the Box A sequence and 27-29 bp upstream of the ATG translation initiation codon of the purE gene.