Comparative study of the 16S RNA's of Escherichia coli and Proteus vulgaris.

We have studied the primary structure of 16S ribosomal RNA from Proteus vulgaris. The oligonucleotides containing methylated bases appeared to be the same as those of Escherichia coli, with one exception. We have also studied the base composition of the oligonucleotides obtained after T1 ribonuclease digestion of 16S RNA. On the basis both of their position on the fingerprint and of their pancreatic ribonuclease analyses, approximately 25 appeared to differ from those found in the E. coli T1 fingerprints. From the isolation of large fragments arising from the action of endogeneous endonucleases, we have concluded that the RNA sequences of both species are very similar. We have shown that the 5' and 3' extremities of 16S RNA are mostly conserved. It appears that the regions which are known to interact with ribosomal proteins in E. coli (particularly S8 and S15) are also less modified. It is noteworthy that the sequence modifications which have been observed are clustered and often correspond to regions of heterogeneity in E. coli 16S RNA.