A murC gene from coryneform bacteria

The upstream flanking region of the ftsQ and ftsZ genes of Brevibacterium f lavum MJ233, which belongs to the coryneform bacteria, was amplified by the inverse polymerase chain reaction method and cloned in Escherichia coli. C omplementation analysis of E. coli mutant with a defective cell-wall synthe sis mechanism with the cloned fragment and its DNA sequencing indicated the presence of the murC gene, encoding UDPN-acetylmuramate:L-alanine ligase i nvolved in peptidoglycan synthesis, just upstream from the ftsQ gene. The B . flavum murC gene could encode a protein of 486 amino acid residues with a calculated molecular mass of 51 198 Da. A 50-kDa protein was synthesized b y the B. flavum murC gene in an in vitro transcription/translation system u sing E. coli S30 lysate. These results indicate that the genes responsible for cell-wall synthesis and cell division are located as a cluster in B. fl avum similar to the E. coli mra region.