Open AccessNucleotide sequence of the melA gene, Coding for α-galactosidase inEscherichia coliK-12
Author(s) -
Pirkko L. Liljeström,
Pirkko L. Liljeström
Publication year - 1987
Publication title -
nucleic acids research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 9.008
H-Index - 537
eISSN - 1362-4954
pISSN - 0305-1048
DOI - 10.1093/nar/15.5.2213
Subject(s) - biology , nucleic acid sequence , escherichia coli , gene , homology (biology) , genetics , peptide sequence , operon , coding region , locus (genetics) , dna , biochemistry , microbiology and biotechnology
Melibiose uptake and hydrolysis in E.coli is performed by the MelB and MelA proteins, respectively. We report the cloning and sequencing of the melA gene. The nucleotide sequence data showed that melA codes for a 450 amino acid long protein with a molecular weight of 50.6 kd. The sequence data also supported the assumption that the mel locus forms an operon with melA in proximal position. A comparison of MelA with alpha-galactosidase proteins from yeast and human origin showed that these proteins have only limited homology, the yeast and human proteins being more related. However, regions common to all three proteins were found indicating sequences that might comprise the active site of alpha-galactosidase.