Sequence of the initiation factor IF2 gene: unusual protein features and homologies with elongation factors

The gene for protein synthesis initiation factor IF2 in Escherichia coli, infB, is located downstream from nusA on the same operon. We sequenced about 3 kilobases of DNA beginning within nusA and including the entire infB structural gene plus another 392 bases downstream. This region contains no obvious strong promoter signals, but a possible transcriptional termination or pausing site occurs downstream from infB. The putative initiator codon for IF2 alpha (97,300 daltons) is AUG; that for IF2 beta (79,700 daltons) is GUG, located 471 bases downstream in the same reading frame. The codon usage for IF2 is typical of other highly expressed proteins in E. coli and suggests that IF2 mRNA is efficiently translated. IF2 alpha contains two adjacent regions (residues 104-155 and 167-214) that are rich in alanine and charged amino acids and that show striking periodicities in their sequences. These regions may alternate between flexible and helical conformations, thereby drawing together the NH2-terminal and COOH-terminal globular domains of the factor as IF2 interacts with ribosomes or tRNA. Certain regions of the DNA and protein sequences of IF2 share strong homologies with elongation factor EF-Tu and lesser homology with EF-G. In particular, a region of EF-Tu implicated in GTP binding contains sequences and secondary structure that are conserved in IF2. The homologies indicate that the genes for IF2 and the elongation factors are derived at least in part from a common ancestor.