Organization and expression of the 16S, 23S and 5S ribosomal RNA genes from the archaebacterium Thermoplasma acidophilum.

To elucidate the organization of the transcription units encoding the 16S, 23S and 5S rRNAs in the archaebacterium Thermoplasma acidophilum, the nucleotide sequences flanking the three rRNA genes were determined, and the 5' and 3' termini of the rRNA transcripts were mapped by primer extension and nuclease S1 protection. The results show that each of the rRNAs is transcribed separately, consistent with the lack of physical proximity among them in the T. acidophilum genome. The transcription initiation sites are preceded at an interval of approximately 25 base pairs by conserved A + T-rich sequences of the form CTTATATA, which strongly resemble the archaebacterial promoter consensus, TTTAT/AATA. In all three cases, transcription termination occurs within T-rich tracts just downstream from inverted repeats which can be folded into relatively stable stem-loop structures. While no partially processed intermediates of the 16S or 5S rRNA transcripts were detected, the 23S rRNA transcript appears to be processed by a RNase III-like activity prior to final maturation. This is the only organism known in the prokaryotic world in which the 16S, 23S and 5S rRNAs are all expressed from separate transcription units.