New regulatory mutations affecting the expression of the threonine operon in Escherichia coli K-12.

The promoter of the threonine operon was joined to the structural genes of the lac operon in Escherichia coli K 12. The synthesis of beta-galactosidase was thus repressed by threonine plus isoleucine in the fusion strains. To isolate mutations which affect the expression of the threonine operon, alterations in the level of expression of the lacZ gene were selected. A new type of regulatory mutation was discovered.