Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: EC:2.7.7.6 (RNA polymerase)
 34,946 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

We have developed an Escherichia coli system for testing the behaviour of plasmids carrying target sites for the F1p site-specific recombinase. The E. coli strain BL-FLP is described, which carries a chromosomally integrated bacteriophage T7 RNA polymerase gene expressed from a lac promoter, and harbours the plasmid pMS40.pMS40 has the features: (i) it carries the FLP recombinase gene under the control of a bacteriophage T7 promoter, (ii) it confers kanamycin resistance, and (iii) it uses an R6K origin of replication; these two latter features make it compatible with most conventional cloning vectors. Substrate plasmids carrying F1p-recognition targets (FRT) are transformed into BL-FLP, and the consequences of F1p-mediated recombination can be analysed after subsequent extraction of plasmid DNA. We show that this system is capable of base-perfect F1p-mediated recombination on plasmid substrates. We also present a corrected sequence of the commonly used F1p substrate plasmid, pNEO beta GAL (O'Gorman et al. (1991) Science 251, 1351-1355).
 ...
PMID:An Escherichia coli system for assay of F1p site-specific recombination on substrate plasmids. 897 72

The Polycomb group proteins are responsible for long-term repression of a number of genes in Drosophila melanogaster, including the homeotic genes of the bithorax complex. The Polycomb protein is thought to alter the chromatin structure of its target genes, but there has been little direct evidence for this model. In this study, the chromatin structure of the bithorax complex was probed with three separate assays for DNA accessibility: (i) activation of polymerase II (Pol II) transcription by Gal4, (ii) transcription by the bacteriophage T7 RNA polymerase (T7RNAP), and (iii) FLP-mediated site-specific recombination. All three processes are restricted or blocked in Polycomb-repressed segments. In contrast, control test sites outside of the bithorax complex permitted Gal4, T7RNAP, and FLP activities throughout the embryo. Several P insertions in the bithorax complex were tested, providing evidence that the Polycomb-induced effect is widespread over target genes. This accessibility effect is similar to that seen for SIR silencing in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. In contrast to SIR silencing, however, episomes excised from Polycomb-repressed chromosomal sites do not show an altered superhelix density.
 ...
PMID:Polycomb group repression reduces DNA accessibility. 1153 46

Genetic manipulation of cells for desired traits is the most appreciable strategy implemented in the field of bioengineering. However, this approach closely relies on the use of plasmids and is commonly afflicted by the potential problem of plasmid instability and safety caution. Meanwhile, it may also lead to the spread of antibiotic-resistant markers with replicons of plasmids to the environment. However, this issue has long been neglected. In this study, we have addressed these subjects by developing replicon-free and markerless methods for chromosomal insertion of genes and controlled expression of genomic genes in Escherichia coli. For the former application, the integration vectors of conditional replication were incorporated with the prophage attachment site and duplicated FRT sites. Their utility was illustrated by site-specific insertion of target genes, the endogenous dxs gene and three heterologous genes consisting of gps, crtI, and crtB, fused to T7 promoter into E. coli genome. For the latter application, the template vectors for promoter replacement were constructed to carry a DNA cassette containing the T7 promoter linked to a selective marker flanked with the FRT site. Subsequently, it was illustrated by replacement of the native promoter of chromosomal pckA by the T7 promoter. Finally, with the aid of FLP recombinase supplied from a helper plasmid, the regions containing replicon and/or selective markers in inserted DNAs were eliminated from integrants for both approaches. As a consequence, the expression of these five genes was subject to control by one response regulator, T7 RNA polymerase, in a regulon way, resulting in a high and stable production of lycopene in the cell. This result indicates the promise of developed methods for genome engineering in E. coli.
 ...
PMID:Replicon-free and markerless methods for genomic insertion of DNAs in phage attachment sites and controlled expression of chromosomal genes in Escherichia coli. 1855 4

The human pathogen and aquatic bacterium Vibrio cholerae belongs to the group of naturally competent bacteria. This developmental program allows the bacterium to take up free DNA from its surrounding followed by a homologous recombination event, which allows integration of the transforming DNA into the chromosome. Taking advantage of this phenomenon we genetically engineered V. cholerae using natural transformation and FLP recombination. More precisely, we adapted the T7 RNA polymerase/promoter system in this organism allowing expression of genes in a T7 RNA polymerase-dependent manner. We naturally transformed V. cholerae by adding a T7-specific promoter sequence upstream the toxin-coregulated pilus (tcp) gene cluster. In a V. cholerae strain, which concomitantly produced the T7 RNA polymerase, this genetic manipulation resulted in the overexpression of downstream genes. The phenotypes of the strain were also in line with the successful production of TCP pili. This provides a proof-of-principle that the T7 RNA polymerase/promoter system is functional in V. cholerae and that genetic engineering of this organism by natural transformation is a straightforward and efficient approach.
 ...
PMID:Overexpression of the tcp gene cluster using the T7 RNA polymerase/promoter system and natural transformation-mediated genetic engineering of Vibrio cholerae. 2330 92