Genetic organization of the E. coli chromosome around the structural gene for initiation factor IF3 (infC)

A set of lambda transducing phages carrying varying lengths of the E. coli chromosome around the structural gene for initiation factor IF3 (infC) was derived from lambda p2 which is known to carry, besides infC, the structural genes for the alpha subunit of phenylalanyl-tRNA synthetase (pheS), the beta subunit of phenylalanyl-tRNA synthetase (pheT) and the structural gene for threonyl-tRNA synthetase (thrS). The E. coli coding content of these derived phages was analysed by genetic complementation of a set of mutants and by SDS-polyacrylamide gel analysis of the proteins synthesized in UV irradiated cells infected with these phages. The segregation pattern of the different genes among these derived phages indicates that the order of the genes is pheT - pheS - "P12" - (infC, thrS) where infC is probably between "P12" and thrS. "P12" is the structural gene of a 12,000 molecular weight unidentified protein.