ANTITERMINATOR PROTEIN GLPP OF BACILLUS-SUBTILIS BINDS TO GLPD LEADERMESSENGER-RNA

The Bacillus subtilis glpD gene encodes glycerol-3-phosphate (G3P) deh ydrogenase. Expression of glpD is mainly controlled by termination/ant itermination of transcription at an inverted repeat in the glpD leader . Antitermination is mediated by the antiterminator protein GlpP in th e presence of G3P. In this paper, interaction between GlpP and glpD le ader mRNA in vivo and in vitro is reported. In vivo, the antiterminati ng effect of GlpP can be titrated in a strain carrying the glpD leader on a plasmid. GlpP has been purified and gel shift experiments have s hown that it binds to glpD leader mRNA in vitro. GlpP is not similar t o other known antiterminator proteins, but database searches have reve aled an Escherichia coli ORF which has a high degree of similarity to GlpP.