Participation of the overproduced elongation factor Tu fromThermus thermophilusin protein biosynthesis ofEscherichia coli

Abstract

The influence of the overproduced elongation factor Tu (EF‐Tu) from Thermus thermophilus on the protein biosynthesis in Escherichia coli was investigated both in vivo and in vitro. A kirromycin‐resistant E. coli strain became sensitive to this antibiotic upon the expression of the tufA‐gene of T. thermophilus present on a plasmid. In in vitro translation with components of the kirromycin‐resistant E. coli strain the poly(Phe) synthesis stopped when minute amounts of the EF‐Tu from T. thermophilus were added. Both results indicate the sensitivity of the T. thermophilus EF‐Tu to kirromycin and its participation in the polypeptide synthesis of E. coli.