Repeated sequences and open reading frames in the 3' flanking region of the gene for the RNA subunit of Escherichia coli ribonuclease P.

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Abstract
The identity of about 700 nucleotides in the 3'' flanking region of the gene for [phage] M1 RNA, the RNA component of RNase P (EC 3.1.26.5), was determined. This region begins with a 113-base-pair segment of DNA, which is repeated .apprx. 3.5 times. The first repeating unit originates within the gene sequence for the 3'' end of mature M1 RNA. The repeating units are highly conserved but diverge considerably after the partial fourth repeat. Segments of sequence homologous to the repeats were identified upstream in the M1 RNA transcription unit and downstream from the repeating units. Several overlapping open reading frames, with the potential to encode small basic proteins, were identified in the repeated sequences. The structure of the M1 RNA gene 3'' flanking region is very similar to the corresponding region at the Tyr T locus. In vitro and in vivo, transcription of the M1 RNA gene appears to terminate about 40 nucleotides downstream from the 3'' terminus of mature M1 RNA. An RNA processing event is involved in the biosynthesis of M1 RNA.