Sequences of the E. coli uvrB gene and protein

The UvrB protein is one of the three subunits of the E. coli ABC excinuclease. We have reported the sequences of the other two subunits, the UvrA and UvrC proteins. In this paper the sequence of the UvrB protein is presented. The protein sequence was determined from the DNA sequence of the uvrB gene and was confirmed by sequencing the NH2-terminus of the UvrB protein and analyzing its overall amino acid composition. The coding region of uvrB is 2019 basepairs, specifying a protein of 672 amino acids and Mr of 76,118. The sequence of the UvrB protein shows a moderate level of homology to that of the UvrC protein and to the ATP binding site of the UvrA protein. During purification of UvrB protein a proteolytic product, UvrB, is produced in high quantities. We find that UvrB results from removal of about 40 amino acids from the COOH-terminus of the UvrB protein. The uvrB gene has complex regulatory features. On the 5' side, the coding region is preceded by 3 promoters, a DnaA box and an SOS box. On the 3' side the gene is followed by an REP (Repetitive Extragenic Palindrome) sequence which has been implicated in gene regulation by an unknown mechanism.