Structure of the gene for the stringent starvation protein of Escherichia coli

The nucleotide sequence of the gene for the stringent starvation protein (SSP) of E. coli was determined. The deduced amino acid sequences shows that the SSP is composed of 212 amino acid residues, rich in both positively and negatively charged amino acids and has a molecular weight of 24,305. Primer extension experiments and nuclease S1 mapping analysis showed a site on the chromosome DNA corresponding to the 5' end of the transcript of the SSP gene. However, the consensus promoter sequences were not found at the upstream region. In the 3' flanking region a long coding frame was found immediately following the SSP gene, suggesting that the SSP gene is a member of a multicistronic operon.