[Nucleotide sequence of the Escherichia coli B38 flagellin gene]

The fliC gene of the E. coli B38 flagellin has been cloned and its nucleotide sequence determined using the terminator method. According to the sequencing data, the flagellin contains 565 amino acid residues which exceeds by 65 residues the number of amino acid residues in the earlier decoded E. coli K12 flagellin. Strong homology was observed in the two flagellins among the 160 initial and 89 tail-ended residues, whereas the central, variable parts showed no homology. Similar to the K12 flagellin, the B38 flagellin has no serines, cysteines or tryptophans. The variable part of the fliC E. coli B38 gene contains a Chi-site which initiates the genetic recombination in E. coli and related species.