Nucleotide sequence of the proximal portion of the RNA polymerase beta subunit gene of Escherichia coli.

The nucleotide sequence of the 5'-proximal portion of the RNA polymerase beta subunit gene (rpoB) has been determined. From the nucleotide sequence it is possible to predict that NH2-terminal 390 amino acid residues of the protein. The codon utilization in this portion of the rpoB gene is similar to the utilization in the adjacent cluster of ribosomal protein genes. The NH2-terminal portion of the protein is rich in both acidic (59/390) and basic (54/390) amino acid residues; more than half of the basic residues are clustered within limited stretches of the polypeptide and may play a role in RNA polymerase-nucleic acid interaction.