rho Mutations restore lamB expression in E. coli K12 strains with an inactive malB region

lamB, the structural gene for lambda receptor, is the second gene of the malK-lamB operon in the malB region of the Escherichia coli K12 chromosome. lamB is essentially not expressed in the absence of an active malT gene product, the activator of the maltose regulon. A malT strain is resistant to phage lambda. We show that: (i) Introduction of rho mutations in malT mutants restores lamB expression to a level sufficient to render the strain sensitive to phage lambda; (ii) This restoration is not dependent on the main promoter of the malK lamB operon. It depends on the distal part of the malK gene. We propose that rho inactivation unmasks the activity of a promoter located near the distal end of malK. Experiments with Mu insertions in gene malK suggest that in the (-) orientation a Mu promoter is also able to allow lamB expression in a rho background.