Cloning and nucleotide sequence of the N-acetylmuramidase M1-encoding gene from Streptomyces globisporus

The gene (acm) encoding N-acetylmuramidase M1 (ACM) was cloned of Streptomyces globisporus ATCC No. 21553. The nucleotide sequence of the acm gene was determined and found to code for an ORF of 294 amino acids (aa). Comparison of aa sequence deduced from the acm gene with the N-terminal sequence of the extracellular enzyme suggests that ACM is synthesized with a 77-aa leader peptide. A comparison of the ACM aa sequence with the aa sequences of other proteins in the NBRF data base reveals that ACM has strong similarity to the N-O-diacetylmuramidase secreted by the fungus Chalaropsis.