Continued expression of the ribonucleic acid control gene during inhibition of Escherichia coli ribonucleic acid and protein synthesis.

The effect of the ribonucleic acid (RNA) control (RC) gene on the biosynthesis of viral RNA has been examined in an RC(str) and an RC(rel) host infected with R17 RNA bacteriophage under conditions in which host RNA and protein synthesis were inhibited by the addition of rifampicin. Methionine and isoleucine starvation depressed viral RNA biosynthesis in an RC(str) host but not in an RC(rel) host. However, histidine starvation had little effect on viral RNA and protein synthesis in both RC(str) and RC(rel) cells, although it had a marked effect on host protein and RNA synthesis in an RC(str) host. Chloramphenicol relieved the effect of amino acid starvation on viral RNA synthesis in an RC(str) host. It is concluded that stringent control of viral RNA biosynthesis does not require the continued biosynthesis of the RC gene product (RNA or protein) and that a preformed RC gene product can regulate the biosynthesis of the exogenous RNA. It is suggested that the amino acid dependence of viral RNA biosynthesis is due to its obligatory coupling with the translation of the viral coat protein which lacks histidine. It may be inferred that the amino acid requirement of bacterial RNA is due to its coupling with the translation of a host-specific protein (other than the RC gene product) which requires a full complement of amino acids. Since chloramphenicol is known to permit ribosome movement in the absence of protein synthesis, it is suggested that ribosome movement along the nascent RNA chain is a sufficient condition for the continuation of RNA synthesis.