The LexA protein does not bind specifically to the two SOS box-like sequences immediately 5' to the phr gene

There are two SOS box-like sequences located at the regions -161 to -142 and -69 to -50 with regard to the initiation codon of phr. Ihara et al. (1987) constructed a phr'-'lacZ fusion plasmid in which these sequences and the amino terminal end of the phr gene was fused to lacZ and therefore lacZ was under the regulatory control of phr promoter-operator. The authors found that in cells carrying this plasmid beta-galactosidase was inducible by UV and UV-mimetic agents and concluded that phr was controlled by the LexA repressor. We wished to confirm these results by theoretical analysis of the SOS-like sequences by the method developed by Berg (1987) as well as by measuring the binding of LexA protein to the putative SOS boxes by a novel gel retardation assay. Both theoretical analysis and experimental results indicate that the putative SOS boxes immediately 5' to phr have no specific affinity for LexA protein.