Sequence of the precursor to rat ornithine aminotransferase deduced from a cDNA clone

The nucleotide sequence of ornithine aminotransferase mRNA from rat liver, including the entire coding and 3' untranslated regions, was determined from two overlapping cDNA clones. The mRNA encodes a precursor polypeptide of 439 amino acid residues with a molecular weight of 48,332. The deduced amino acid composition of the proposed mature enzyme sequence (residues 35 through 439) was in good agreement with that reported for the purified protein. The amino-terminal segment of the precursor corresponding to residues 1 through 34 has an overall positive charge, containing 6 basic residues and only a single acidic residue, and is postulated to be the mitochondrial leader sequence. The first 22 amino acid residues of the proposed leader sequences share 54% homology with the leader peptide of rat ornithine transcarbamylase precursor and more limited homology to the leader peptides of other nuclear-encoded mitochondrial matrix proteins. Homology was also observed between residues 286 through 362 ornithine aminotransferase precursor and a region containing the pyridoxyl phosphate binding domain of mitochondrial aspartate aminotransferase.