A DNA sequence containing the control regions of the malEFG and malK-lamB operons in Escherichia coli K12.

The malB region in E. coli is composed of two operons, malEFG and malK-lamB, transcribed divergently from a control region located between the malE and malK genes. We have established the DNA sequence of a 600 base pair segment which contains the sites necessary for initiation of transcription of the malB operons and the translation start sites for malE and malK. We have also determined the position of a 147 base pair deletion, malB delta 100, in this sequence. The control region contains two short segments (about 35 base pairs) showing unusual distributions of bases: the GC content (85%) is higher than average and most of the purines (85%) are on one strand. We discuss the possible relevance of this and other salient features of the DNA sequence to the mechanisms by which the expression of the malB region is positively regulated.