Nucleotide sequence of a tRNA(leu)CAG gene from Rhizobium meliloti

The nucleotide sequence of a tRNA(leu)CAG gene from Rhizobium meliloti has been determined. Its organization includes a short transcript with a promoter-like structure and two Rho-independent terminators about 10 bp downstream from the cloverleaf structure. The putative promoter shows good homology with the -45 and -35 region of the consensus (sigma 70) promoter sequence of Escherichia coli, but less with the -10 region. A discriminator-like sequence is present between the start of the transcript and the -10 region. The gene shows extensive homology to tRNA(leu)CAG genes from Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. However, significant differences are encountered in the variable loop region. This is the first report of a tRNA sequence from R. meliloti.