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The inducible resistance to alkylation mutagenesis and killing in Escherichia coli (the adaptive response) is controlled by the ada gene. The Ada protein acts both as a positive regulator of the response and as a DNA repair enzyme, correcting premutagenic O6-alkylguanine in DNA by suicidal transfer of the alkyl group to one of its own cysteine residues. We have determined the DNA sequence of the cloned ada+ gene and its regulatory region. The data reveal potential sites of ada autoregulation. Amino acid sequence determinations show that the active center for the O6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase is located close to the polypeptide COOH terminus and has the unusual sequence -Pro-Cys-His-, preceded by a very hydrophobic region. These same structural features are present at the active site of thymidylate synthase, suggesting a common chemical mechanism for activation of the cysteine.
Demple et al. (Wed,) studied this question.