Cloning and nucleotide sequence of the gene braB coding for the sodium-coupled branched-chain amino acid carrier in Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO.

The gene braB, encoding the Na(+)-coupled carrier for branched-chain amino acids in Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO, was cloned on cosmid pMMB34. The cosmid clones carrying the braB gene were identified as those that restored growth at low leucine concentration and Na(+)-dependent leucine transport activity to P. aeruginosa PAO3536 defective in the transport of branched-chain amino acids. Determination of the nucleotide sequence of the DNA fragment shows that the braB gene comprises 1311 bp and encodes a hydrophobic protein of 437 amino acids with a calculated Mr of 45,279. The hydropathy profile suggests that there exist in the carrier protein 12 hydrophobic segments long enough to traverse the membrane. The amino acid sequence shows a high degree of homology with the brnQ product, a branched-chain amino acid carrier of Salmonella typhimurium, while no homology in the nucleotide sequences is found in the braB and brnQ genes.