CHARACTERIZATION OF 2 GROEL GENES IN STREPTOMYCES-COELICOLOR-A3(2)

Two Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2) groEL-like genes, groEL1 and groEL2, were cloned and characterized. Pulsed-field-gel electrophoresis locat ed these genes, which were not adjacent, in the same segment of the ch romosome. Nucleotide sequence analysis revealed that groEL1, but not g roEL2, was preceded by a groES-like gene. Northern blots showed that h eat shock induced the accumulation of transcripts corresponding to gro ES (0.7 kb), groES/EL1 (2.3 kb) and groEL2 (2.1 kb). Unique transcript ion start points and promoters were located for groES/EL1 and groEL2, having -10 and -35 hexamers similar to eubacterial vegetative promoter s. Regions located 5' to the groES/EL1 or groEL2 structural genes cont ain 'GCACTCN(9)GAGTGC' motifs conserved upstream from the heat-shock g enes of other bacteria.