The 23S-5S spacer of two rRNA loci of Streptococcus salivarius subsp thermophilus includes a promoter.

The nucleotide sequence of the 3' part of a ribosomal and transfer RNA locus from Streptococcus salivarius subsp thermophilus NST1403 was determined. The sequenced DNA fragment includes the 3' end of a 23S rRNA gene, a 5S rRNA gene, a tRNA(asn) gene and a potential transcriptional terminator. The tRNA gene does not encode for the CCA 3'terminus of mature tRNA. We compared this sequence to a promoter-carrying DNA fragment sequence (P20) of Streptococcus salivarius subsp thermophilus A054 [1]. We found that the P20 sequence included the 3' end of a 23S rRNA gene, a 5S rRNA gene and the 5' part of a tRNA(val) gene. The two 23S-5S spacer sequences are identical and contain a promoter and a potential 23S rRNA processing site. Therefore, 5S rRNA and tRNA genes could be transcribed from a promoter located within the 23S-5S spacer of at least two of the six rRNA loci.