Recd: the Gene for an Essential Third Subunit of Exonuclease V
Proc. Nati. Acad. Sci. USA Vol. 83, pp. 5558-5562, August 1986 Genetics recD: The gene for an essential third subunit of exonuclease V [genetic recombination/ceil viability/nudease-negative, recombination.-positive (recB*) phenotype/RecBCD enzyme] SUSAN K. AMUNDSEN*, ANDREW F. TAYLOR, ABDUL M. CHAUDHURYt, AND GERALD R. SMITH§ Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, 1124 Columbia Street, Seattle, WA 98104 Communicated by Hamilton 0. Smith, February 24, 1986 ABSTRACT Exonuclease V (EC 3.1.11.5) of Escherichia The subunit composition of ExoV has been uncertain. coli, an enzyme with multiple activities promoting genetic Genetic complementation analysis of ExoV null mutants recombination, has previously been shown to contain two (those lacking any detectable activity) revealed two genes, polypeptides, the products of the recB and recC genes. We recB and recC (12). These genes code for two polypeptides report here that the enzyme contains in addition a third with approximate molecular masses of 120 and 110 kDa, polypeptide (a) with a molecular mass of about 58 kDa. The a respectively, seen in purified preparations of ExoV (8, 13, poypeptide is not synthesized by a class ofmutants (previously 14). ExoV can be dissociated by high salt and separated by designated recB*) lacking the nuclease activity of exonuclease column chromatography into two inactive fractions, desig- V but retaining recombination proficiency. The gene, recD, nated a and /; mixing a and f3 restores nuclease and ATPase coding for the a polypeptide is located near recB in the order activity (15, 16). Unexpectedly, a activity is present in thyA-recC-ptr-recB-recD-agA on the E.
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