Cloning and characterization of livH, the structural gene encoding a component of the leucine transport system in Escherichia coli.

The physical location of the genetically defined livH gene was mapped in the 17-kilobase plasmid pOX1 by using transposon Tn5 inactivation mapping and further confirmed by subcloning and complementation analysis. These results indicated that the livH gene maps 3' to livK, the gene encoding the leucine-specific binding protein. Moreover, the nucleotide sequence of the livH gene and its flanking regions was determined. The livH gene is encoded starting 47 base pairs downstream from the livK gene, and it is transcribed in the same direction as the livK gene. The livK-livH intergenic region lacks promoter sequences and contains a GC-rich sequence that could lead to the formation of a stable stem loop structure. The coding sequence of the livH gene, which is 924 base pairs, specifies a very hydrophobic protein of 308 amino acid residues. Expression of livH-containing plasmids in minicells suggested that a poorly expressed protein with an Mr of 30,000 could be the livH gene product.