Identification and characterization of the alpha-acetolactate synthase gene from Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis biovar diacetylactis
Marugg, J.D.; Goelling, D.; Stahl, U.; Ledeboer, A.M.; Toonen, M.Y.; Verhue, W.M.; Verrips, C.T.
Applied and Environmental Microbiology 60(4): 1390-1394
1994
ISSN/ISBN: 0099-2240
PMID: 8017926
Accession: 008801936
The conversion of 3-13C-labelled pyruvate in an acetoin-producing clone from a Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis biovar diacetylactis strain DSM 20384 plasmid bank in Escherichia coli was studied by 13C nuclear magnetic resonance analysis. The results showed that alpha-acetolactate was the first metabolic product formed from pyruvate, whereas acetoin appeared at a much slower rate and reached only low concentrations. This alpha-acetolactate production shows that the cells express the gene for alpha-acetolactate synthase (als). Nucleotide sequence analysis identified an open reading frame encoding a protein of 554 amino acids. The deduced amino acid sequence exhibits extensive similarities to those of known alpha-acetolactate synthases from both prokaryotes and eukaryotes. The als gene is expressed on a monocistronic transcriptional unit, which is transcribed from a promoter located just upstream of the coding region.