Elongation factor NusG interacts with termination factor ρ to regulate termination and antitermination of transcription

• Published in: Genes & development 1993, Vol.7 (1), p.161-172
• Main Authors: LI, J, MASON, S. W, GREENBLATT, J
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Bacterial Proteins - metabolism; Biological and medical sciences; Chromatography, Affinity; DNA-Binding Proteins - metabolism; Escherichia coli; Escherichia coli - genetics; Escherichia coli Proteins; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial; Molecular and cellular biology; Molecular genetics; Mutation; Peptide Elongation Factors - metabolism; Protein Binding; Rho Factor - metabolism; Terminator Regions, Genetic; Transcription Factors; Transcription, Genetic; Transcription. Transcription factor. Splicing. Rna processing
• ISSN: 0890-9369; 1549-5477
• DOI: 10.1101/gad.7.1.161

NusG is a transcriptional elongation factor in Escherichia coli that aids transcriptional antitermination by the phage lambda N protein. By using NusG affinity chromatography, we found that NusG binds directly and selectively to termination factor rho. NusG was shown previously to be needed for termination by rho in vivo, and we show here that NusG increases the efficiency of termination by rho at promoter-proximal sites in vitro. The rho026 mutation makes termination by rho less dependent on NusG. It also makes antitermination by N at rho-dependent terminators and the binding of rho to NusG temperature sensitive. Therefore, the interaction of NusG with rho is important both for rho-dependent termination and for antitermination by N at rho-dependent terminators.