Location, function, and nucleotide sequence of a promoter for bacteriophage T3 RNA polymerase.

Abstract
The major promoters for bacteriophage T3 RNA polymerase on the T3 genome were mapped by DNA-RNA filter hybridization. One promoter is located in a 300 base pair Hpa I restriction fragment near the genetic left end of T3 DNA. The sequence in the vicinity of the major initiation site of transcription in this region was determined. A part of the (-)strand sequence is .**GRAPHIC**. Comparison of this sequence with the prototype 23 base pair promoter sequence for bacteriophage T7 RNA polymerase shows a striking pattern of homology and divergence. Between positions -9 and +4, the sequences are virtually identical; between positions -17 and -10, the sequences are quite different. These sequence subsets may perform different functions in transcription initiation by the phage RNA polymerases.

This publication has 25 references indexed in Scilit: