Transcription of sea urchin histone genes in Escherichia coli

DNA fragments comprising units of the repeated histone genes form the sea urchins Psammechinus miliaris and Echinus esculentus were placed under the control of bacteriophage Lambda promoters by cloning into lambda replacement vectors. Although promoter-like regions exist within the cloned fragments, transcription of the histone genes is controlled mainly, but not exclusively, by lambda PL promoter. A transcription map of the cloned P. miliaris histone DNA fragment was obtained. The order of histone genes in E. esculentus was deduced from electron microscopic analyses of heteroduplexes with P. miliaris histone genes, and is similar to that in P. miliaris. Translation products of the transcripts have not been found in E. coli.