Molecular cloning in Escherichia coli, expression, and nucleotide sequence of the gene for the ethylene-forming enzyme of Pseudomonas syringae pv. phaseolicola PK2.

The gene for the ethylene-forming enzyme of Pseudomonas syringae pv. phaseolicola PK2 was found to be encoded by an indigenous plasmid, designated pPSP1. The gene for the ethylene-forming enzyme was cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli JM109. Nucleotide sequence analysis of the clone revealed an open reading frame that encodes 350 amino acids (mol. wt. 39,444). In a comparison with other proteins, the homology score for the entire amino-acid sequence of the ethylene-forming enzyme of Pseudomonas syringae versus ethylene-forming enzymes from plants and 2-oxoglutarate-dependent dioxygenases was low. However, functionally significant regions are conserved.