Precise mapping and comparison of two evolutionarily related regions of the Escherichia coli K-12 chromosome. Evolution of valU and lysT from an ancestral tRNA operon.

Two tRNA operons have been found near the gltX gene encoding the glutamyl-tRNA synthetase of Escherichia coli K-12. The alaW operon previously undetected from genetic data and containing two identical tRNA(GGCAla) genes is 800 base-pairs downstream from the gltX terminator and is transcribed from the same strand. The valU operon containing genes for three identical tRNA(UACVal) and one tRNA(UUULys) (the wild-type allele of supN), is adjacent to gltX and is transcribed from the opposite strand. Five open reading frames were also found in this region encoding putative polypeptides of 62, 105, 130, 167 and 294 amino acid residues. ORF294 is a new member of the lysR family of bacterial transcriptional activators. The possibility that this is the xapR gene is discussed. Comparison of the physical and linkage maps of the E. coli chromosome in the 52 minute region has permitted precise mapping of most of the 18 genes in this region with the order nupC-glk- less than (alaW beta-ala W alpha)-1 kb- less than gltX-0.3 kb-(valU alpha-valU beta-valU gamma-lysV = supN) greater than xapR-xapA- less than lig-1 kb-cysK greater than -0.4 kb-ptsH greater than -0.05 kb-pstI greater than -0.05 kb-crr greater than -cysM-cysA in the clockwise order (greater than and less than indicate the direction of transcription; kb, 10(3) bases). The last two genes of valU (52 min) and lysT (16.5 min) are arranged in a similar fashion and a highly conserved region has been found in both operons. This suggests that the valU and lysT operons probably arose by a duplication of an ancestral tRNA operon. This is the first example of what may be two different tRNA operons from the same organism evolving from an ancestral tRNA gene. Comparison of the 16 and 52 minute regions of the E. coli K-12 chromosome suggests that these two regions could share a common ancestor.