PRIMER EXTENSION ANALYSIS OF STREPTOCOCCUS-MUTANS PROMOTER STRUCTURES

To characterize the promoter structures of Streptococcus mutans genes, primer extension analysis was carried out with 4 genes previously isolated in this laboratory. An analysis of the transciption start sites for the gtfB, gtfC, gtfD and ftf genes revealed that each transcript was initiated at a purine residue. Based on these sites, the -10 and -35 sequences for each transcript were deduced and compared. For all 4 transcripts, the -10, but not the -35, sequences were homologous to the Escherichia coli promoter consensus sequences.