Cloning and sequencing of the genes encoding the alpha and beta subunits of C-phycocyanin from the cyanobacterium Agmenellum quadruplicatum.

Synthetic oligonucleotide probes were used to identify a cloned DNA fragment from the cyanobacterium Agmenellum quadruplicatum that contains the genes for the alpha and beta subunits of C-phycocyanin. The coding region for the alpha-subunit gene begins 108 base pairs downstream from the 3' end of the beta-subunit structural gene. The sequences of the coding regions for both genes have been determined as well as 379 base pairs of 5' flanking region, 204 base pairs of 3' flanking region, and the 108 base pairs between the two genes. The site of transcriptional initiation is located approximately equal to 325 base pairs upstream from the beta-subunit gene, and an open reading frame 114 base pairs long is found within this region. The significance of this additional open reading frame is not yet known. The derived amino acid sequences for both C-phycocyanin subunits were compared with other known C-phycocyanin sequences for homology. Homologies between the A. quadruplicatum alpha subunit and alpha subunits from other species were approximately equal to 70%, as were homologies between the A. quadruplicatum beta subunit and other beta subunits. Homologies between the various alpha and beta subunits were 21%-27%. Codon usage for both the C-phycocyanin alpha- and beta-subunit genes shows asymmetries for many amino acids that correspond closely to those seen in highly expressed Escherichia coli genes.