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Updated: Aug 18, 2026

Cell Lineage Analyses and Gene Function Studies Using Twin-spot MARCM
Published on: March 2, 2017
Regulation of expression of the ftsA cell division gene by sequences in upstream genes
1Department of Molecular Biology, University of Edinburgh, Scotland.
Abstract:
The essential cell division genes ftsQ and ftsA overlap by 1 bp (A. C. Robinson, D. J. Kenan, G. F. Hatfull, N. F. Sullivan, R. Spiegelberg, and W. D. Donachie. J. Bacteriol. 160:546-555, 1984; Q.-M. Yi, S. Rockenbach, J. E. Ward, and J. F. Lutkenhaus. J. Mol. Biol. 184:399-412, 1985). We have previously shown that ftsA can be expressed from a weak promoter located within the ftsQ gene (Robinson et al., J. Bacteriol. 160:546-555, 1984). We report here the effects on ftsA expression of a series of deletions within ftsQ. We find that two regions upstream of the promoter are important in its expression. When both are present, ftsA is expressed, as is also the case when both are absent. The two regulatory elements (O1 and O2) have 9-bp sequences, of which 8 bp are identical.
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