Ammonium transport in Escherichia coli: localization and nucleotide sequence of the amtA gene

Escherichia coli expresses a concentrative ammonium (methylammonium) transport system which is strongly repressed under conditions of nitrogen excess. We have previously reported the cloning of a structural gene (amtA) for this transporter by complementation. In this study, a 3.4 kb HindIII-BamHI fragment containing amtA was cloned into the pBluescript KS(+) vector, and unidirectional nested deletions from each end of this 3.4 kb fragment were generated by exonuclease III digestion. The deletions were analysed by complementation of the structural gene mutation produced by Tn10 insertion. This allowed amtA to be localized within a 1.4 kb region which spans the site of the mutation. By application of the Sanger dideoxy method, we sequenced the region containing amtA. The gene contains an open reading frame which encodes a protein with a predicted molecular mass of 27 kDa. The open reading frame is preceded by a putative Shine-Dalgarno sequence and followed by an inverted repeat which might function as a simple transcription terminator. Hydropathic analysis of the inferred amino acid sequence of the gene product predicts that amtA encodes a cytoplasmic component of the ammonium transport system.