Metabolism and cardiovascular effects of leukotrienes in the marine toad Bufo marinus

Interspersed repeated DNA sequences are characteristic features of both prokaryotic and eukaryotic genomes. REP sequences are defined as conserved repetitive extragenic palindromic sequences and are found in Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhimurium and other closely related enteric bacteria. These REP sequences may participate in the folding of the bacterial chromosome. In this work we describe a unique class of 28 conserved complex REP clusters, about 100bp long, in which two inverted REPs are separated by a singular integration host factor (IHF) recognition sequence. We term these sequences RIP (for repetitive IHF-binding palindromic) elements and demonstrate that IHF binds to them specifically. It is estimated that there are about 70 RIP elements in E. coli. Our analysis shows that the RIP elements are evenly distributed around the bacterial chromosome. The possible function of the RIP element is discussed.     

Negative and positive regulation of Tn10/IS10-promoted recombination by IHF: two distinguishable processes inhibit transposition off of multicopy plasmid replicons and activate chromosomal events that favor evolution of new transposons

Tn10 is a composite transposon; inverted repeats of insertion sequence IS10 flank a tetracycline-resistance determinant. Previous work has identified several regulatory processes that modulate the interaction between Tn10 and its host. Among these, host-specified DNA adenine methylation, an IS10-encoded antisense RNA and preferential cis action of transposase are particularly important. We now find that the accessory host protein IHF and the sequences that encode the IHF-binding site in IS10 are also important regulators of the Tn10 transposition reaction in vivo and that these determinants are involved in two distinguishable regulatory processes. First, IHF and the IHF-binding site of IS10, together with other host components (e.g., HU), negatively regulate the normal intermolecular transposition process. Such negative regulation is prominent only for elements present on multicopy plasmid replicons. This multicopy plasmid-specific regulation involves effects both on the transposition reaction per se and on transposase gene expression. Second, specific interaction of IHF with its binding site stimulates transposon-promoted chromosome rearrangements but not transposition of a short Tn10-length chromosomal element. However, additional considerations predict that IHF action should favor chromosomal transposition for very long composite elements. On the basis of these and other observations we propose that, for chromosomal events, the major role of IHF is to promote the evolution of new IS10-based composite transposons.     

Structure modification induced in the narG promoter by binding of integration host factor and NARL-P

Interaction of integration host factor (IHF) with linear DNA fragments containing the narG promoter region induced an apparent sharp bend in the DNA centered at the IHF-binding site. Binding of NARL-P to two sites adjacent to the IHF site did not induce bending or modify the apparent bending induced by IHF.     

Function of IHF in lambda DNA packaging. I. Identification of the strong binding site for integration host factor and the locus for intrinsic bending in cosB

Integration host factor (IHF) plays an accessory role in lambda DNA packaging. IHF affects the interaction of the lambda DNA packaging protein, terminase, with cos, the site on lambda DNA at which terminase binds and introduces staggered nicks to generate cohesive ends of mature lambda chromosomes. cos includes cosB, the terminase binding site and cosN, the adjacent nicking site. cosB includes multiple binding sites for gpNu1, the small subunit of terminase, and an IHF binding site, I1. I1 contains two overlapping sequences, called I1A and I1B, that closely match the consensus sequence for IHF binding sites. The I1A sequence was determined to be the site of IHF binding by hydroxyl radical footprinting experiments. Comparison of the pattern of IHF-induced enhancements and diminishments at I1 with published patterns for IHF binding sites at the lambda attachment site identifies I1A as the IHF binding site at I1. The conclusion that I1A is the IHF binding site was confirmed by studies with DNA mutant in I1A. The I1A- mutation, consisting of three adjacent base-pair changes in I1A, abolished IHF binding. In contrast to the I1A- mutation, a mutation in I1B, also consisting of three adjacent base-pair changes, caused a reduction in the affinity of IHF for I1A, and caused a reduction in the magnitude of the net intrinsic bending of cos lambda.