Mutations in dnaA, an essential gene in Escherichia coli, decrease the frequency of transposition of Tn5. An insertion mutation in the dnaA gene does not affect Tn5 gene expression. Therefore, the DnaA protein plays a role either in the transposition reaction itself or in some type of cellular regulation of transposition. Analysis of a mutation in the DnaA box, found at the outside end of IS50, is consistent with a direct interaction of the protein through these bases. IS50 transposition, which utilizes only one end containing a DnaA box, is not affected by dnaA mutations. Overproduction of the DnaA protein does not increase transposition frequencies in wild-type cells, even when the transposase is also overproduced.
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