Transcriptional antitermination in the bgl operon of E. coli is modulated by a specific RNA binding protein

Regulation of bgl operon expression in E. coli occurs by a mechanism involving antitermination of transcription at two termination sites within the operon. The bglG gene product is absolutely required for this process. Here we provide evidence that BglG is an RNA binding protein that recognizes a specific sequence located just upstream of each of the terminators. The sequence was delimited using a series of specific oligonucleotide probes. Mutational analysis of this sequence indicates that the protein requires a specific RNA secondary structure for recognition. We propose that BglG prevents transcription termination by binding to nascent RNA and blocking formation of the terminator structure.