P-type ATPase from the cyanobacterium Synechococcus 7942 related to the human Menkes and Wilson disease gene products.

DNA encoding a P-type ATPase was cloned from the cyanobacterium Synechococcus 7942. The cloned ctaA gene encodes a 790-amino acid polypeptide related to the CopA Cu(2+)-uptake ATPase of Enterococcus hirae, to other known P-type ATPases, and to the candidate gene products for the human diseases of copper metabolism, Menkes disease and Wilson disease. Disruption of the single chromosomal gene in Synechococcus 7942 by insertion of an antibiotic-resistance cassette results in a mutant cell line with increased tolerance to Cu2+ compared with the wild type.