Cloning of a gene coding for phosphotransacetylase from Escherichia coli.

A phosphotransacetylase gene (pta) has been cloned from a genomic DNA library of Escherichia coli 1100, a derivative of strain K-12. The phosphotransacetylase activities of pta+ plasmid-containing strains were amplified about 150-fold under control of the lac promoter. The molecular weight of the phosphotransacetylase was estimated to be about 81,000 by sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The pta gene was found to be downstream of ackA by a combination of restriction analysis and plasmid subcloning. It is located about 13 kb upstream of the purF-folC-hisT region of the chromosome.