Control Elements in the DNA of Bacteriophage λ
This extract was created in the absence of an abstract.
Excerpt
In many cases in prokaryotes, transcription is regulated by the interaction of proteins with sites on DNA called operators and promoters. In the DNA of bacteriophage λ, for example, two separate operators are recognized by the same protein, the λ phage repressor. Repressor bound to operator OL blocks leftward transcription of gene N, and rightward transcription of gene tof is prevented by repressor bound to OR (Fig. 1; for review see Ptashne, 1971).
In this paper we show that each λ operator consists of reiterated, nonidentical repressor binding sites, and we describe the arrangement of these sites within each operator. We also present evidence showing that a genetically defined RNA polymerase binding site (promoter) is located within one of the operators. Our results indicate a specific mechanism for repression of gene function and describe a mode of protein-DNA interaction that may be relevant to certain questions concerning the nature and...
