Disease relevance of rplK

• Furthermore, the gene assembly of vbrA-rplk of S. virginiae closely resembled that of nusG-rplK of E. coli, suggesting that vbrA may constitute a part of an essential gene cluster encoding components of transcriptional and translational apparatuses [1].
• The L11 structural gene, rplK, maping near rif, is carried by the bacteriophage lambdacI857S7drifd18, and is most likely identical with relC [2].

High impact information on rplK

• The basal level amounts of guanosine 5'-diphosphate 3'-diphosphate (ppGpp) in both relA and phenotypically relaxed relA+ rplK (relC) strains were shown to decrease at the onset of amino acid limitation and to remain severely depressed throughout the course of the starvation [3].
• In addition, rplJp continues to function efficiently in the presence of readthrough transcription from rplKp [4].
• Subsequent in vitro assays using ribosomes isolated from wild-type and relA and relC mutant strains confirmed that (p)ppGpp is synthesized by ribosomes and that mutation of RelA or L11 blocks that activity [5].
• Amino acid-deprived rplK (previously known as relC) mutants of Escherichia coli cannot activate (p)ppGpp synthetase I (RelA) and consequently exhibit relaxed phenotypes [6].
• The secE-nusG genes are cotranscribed, with transcripts initiated at the PEG promoter and terminated at the Rho-independent terminator in the region of the rplK promoter [7].

Biological context of rplK

• In the groups I, II and III (total 50 strains) vbrA was found to be adjacent to rplK, indicating that the gene arrangement vbrA-rplK is common in Streptomyces and that these genes may constitute a part of gene cluster encoding several components of the transcription and translation apparatus, as in Escherichia coli [8].
• The involvement of 50S ribosomal protein l11 in the EF-G dependent GTP hydrolysis of E. coli ribosomes [9].

Other interactions of rplK

• Second, the four ribosomal protein genes are organized into two separate transcriptional units; rplK and A are in one unit and rplJ and L are in the second unit [10].

References