Further characterization of the histidine gene cluster of Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2): nucleotide sequence and transcriptional analysis of hisD.

We have further characterized the genomic region of Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2) that contains genes involved in the biosynthesis of histidine. A 2,357-base pair fragment contained in plasmid pSCH3328 that complemented hisD mutations has been sequenced. Computer analysis revealed an open reading frame that encodes a protein with significant homology to the Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhimurium and Mycobacterium smegmatis hisD product, Saccharomyces cerevisiae HIS4C, and Neurospora crassa his3 gene products. Two other contiguous open reading frames oriented divergently with respect to hisD did not show significant similarity with any of the his genes or to other sequences included in the gene bank. S1 nuclease mapping and primer extension experiments indicate that the transcription initiation site of the his-specific mRNA coincides with the GUG translation initiation codon of the hisD cistron.