Nucleotide sequence of the rhaR-sodA interval specifying rhaT in Escherichia coli

The precise location of the rhaT gene, encoding rhamnose permease, has been established between sodA and rhaC at 3605-3607 kb of Kohara's physical map, which corresponds to 88.4 min on the Escherichia coli chromosomal map. The dependence of the activity of the rhaT product on the function of rhaC, the rhamnose operon regulatory gene, was established by measuring rhamnose transport in wild-type and rhaC-deficient strains. The sequence of the sodA-rhaC interval displayed a single ORF corresponding to rhaT, which is transcribed counterclockwise on the E. coli chromosome. The ORF was shown to be preceded by a ribosome binding consensus sequence and a catabolite repression protein consensus sequence. The derived amino acid sequence displayed very low homology with any other permease and was clearly dissimilar to the homologous group formed by the xylose, arabinose, galactose and several glucose transporters. Analysis of the rhaT primary sequence identified potential membrane-spanning regions, possibly defining a protein structure model different from the one corresponding to the above-mentioned homologous group.