The elongation factor Tu coded by the tufA gene of Escherichia coli K-12 is almost identical to that coded by the tufB gene.

Radioactive elongation factor Tu coded by either the tufA or the tufB gene of Escherichia coli K-12 was isolated from cells incubated with a mixture of radioactive amino acids after infection with the defective lambda phage particles that carry either of these genes. Two-dimensional chromatographic analyses of tryptic digests of the tufB gene product revealed about 50 radioactive spots. These same spots plus an additional one were also found in tryptic digests of the tufA gene product. Furthermore, these peptide maps are qualitatively the same as those of the elongation factor Tu obtained from two separate isolates of uninfected E. coli K-12 or from rel+ and relA strains of E. coli B. Because the number of spots recovered is consistent with the number of trypsin-sensitive sites, these analyses indicate that the tufA and tufB genes have not significantly diverged from each other.