[Structure of the Pseudomonas aeruginosa recA gene]

The nucleotide sequence of the 1206 bp fragment of Pseudomonas aeruginosa DNA coding for the recA gene has been determined. This structure was shown to contain an open reading frame corresponding to a protein with m.w. 36808 D highly homologous (70%) to the Escherichia coli recA protein. Homology on the DNA level is significantly lower (57%) due to the high G/C content characteristics of Pseudomonas DNA. Making use of S1 nuclease and reverse transcriptase it was shown that in P. aeruginosa and E. coli cells recAPA gene transcription starts from A or T unit. Unlike "-35" region, "-10" region is homologous to the consensus E. coli promoter sequence. Comparison of primary structures of the recAPA and recAEC proteins demonstrates that the recAPA protein is by 7 amino acid residues shorter and differs from recAEC at 108 positions. Homology is the lowest in the C-terminal part. Basing on the analysis of hybrid recAPA proteins with a modified C-terminal part, it may be suggested that C-terminus is nonessential for main activities of the recA protein.