In vivo transcription of bacteriophage ø29 DNA. Early and late promoter sequences

Abstract

The in vivo transcription initiation sites of eight putative φ29 promoters have been accurately determined: seven of them correspond to early promoters, including the four main ones, and the other corresponds to the only late promoter found in vivo. Comparison of the φ29 promoter sequences with the consensus sequence for the Bacillus subtilisσ43 RNA polymerase suggests that the σ43 enzyme is involved in the recognition of the viral early promoters, whereas the late promoter sequences share homology with the consensus sequence only at its −10 region.