Sequence of a cellulase gene of the thermophilic bacterium Clostridium thermocellum.

The nucleotide sequence of the celA gene, encoding the extracellular endoglucanase A of Clostridium thermocellum, was determined and compared with the NH2-terminal amino acid sequence of the purified enzyme. The mature protein appeared to be extended by a signal sequence of 32 amino acids. A segment of 23 amino acids was duplicated at the COOH-terminal end of the protein. The putative GUG initiation codon was preceded by an AGGAGG sequence, typical of procaryotic ribosomal binding sites. The segment of DNA presumably specifying transcriptional initiation contained a high percentage of adenine and thymine residues, including an adenine-thymine tract extending over 54 base pairs.