Transcriptional analysis of Bacillus subtilis rRNA-tRNA operons. I. The tRNA gene cluster of rrnB has an internal promoter.

Although the sequence and organization of many Bacillus subtilis tRNA genes are known, primary transcripts from these regions have not been previously analyzed. In this paper, S1 nuclease mapping, S1-type mapping, and Northern analyses were applied to the end of the 23 S rRNA, the 5 S rRNA, and the 21 tRNA genes of B. subtilis operon rrnB. Primary transcripts from the 5 S rRNA and tRNA genes up to approximately 600-800 nucleotides long were observed with S1-type mapping. The presence of discrete bands of processing intermediates indicated preferred processing points within the initial transcript. S1 nuclease mapping delineated a start point for transcription between the second and third tRNA genes. The -10 sequence was within the 37-base pair spacer region between tRNA genes, and the -35 sequence was within the structural gene for the upstream tRNA. Precursors from this region were evident during midexponential growth and two sporulation stages. Thus, in addition to promotion from the rRNA promoters, 19 of the 21 downstream tRNA genes are also under the control of an internal tRNA gene promoter. The accompanying paper (Vold, B. S., Green, C. J., Narasimhan, N., Strem, M., and Hansen, J. N. (1988) J. Biol. Chem. 263, 14485-14490) investigates the minor 5 S rRNA and 16 tRNA genes of another rRNA-tRNA gene set and emphasizes unique promoter elements in that system as well as a potentially unique rRNA processing scheme.