An archaeal gene upstream of grpE different from eubacterial counterparts.

In some eubacteria with a dnaK locus in which grpE is close upstream of dnaK, grpE is preceded by an open reading frame (orf) believed to be a heat-shock gene. We also found an orf, orf16, upstream of grpE in the archaeon Methanosarcina mazei S-6, but this gene differs from the eubacterial counterpart: it is shorter, does not respond to a temperature upshift as heat-shock genes do, and the deduced protein Orf16, does not resemble the proteins coded by the eubacterial equivalents. orf16 is expressed monocistronically, with a transcription initiation site 24 bases upstream of the translation start codon, 22 bases downstream of a putative promoter identical to the consensus promoter for genes in methanogens. This initiation site is used by heat-shocked and non-heat-shocked cells in the two morphologic stages of M. mazei S-6 tested, i.e., packets and single cells. Three transcription termination sites were identified, one of which is detectable only in non-heat-shocked cells. Data from comparative analyses of the Orf16 deduced amino acid sequence and those of other known proteins, as well as the apparent biochemical characteristics of Orf16, suggest that the latter is a membrane molecule.