Genetics, Vol 120, 319-327, Copyright © 1988

INVESTIGATIONS

The Effects of Mutations in the ant Promoter of Phage P22 Depend on Context

D. Grana, T. Gardella and M. M. Susskind
Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts 01605

Recombination was used to construct 22 two- or three-way combinations of down- and up-mutations in P(ant), a strong, near-consensus promoter of phage P22. The relative strengths of these promoters in vivo were assayed by fusing them to an ant/lacZ gene fusion and measuring {beta}-galactosidase levels produced by lysogens carrying the fusions on single-copy prophages. The results of these assays show that the magnitude of the effect of a promoter mutation can vary considerably when its context is changed by the presence of another mutation. In addition, as P(ant) approaches conformity with the consensus promoter sequence, the up-mutations decrease promoter strength, even though the same mutations increase promoter strength in the presence of a down-mutation. These context effects imply that individual consensus base pairs cannot be considered to contribute to promoter strength independently.

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