WO2002018597A1

WO2002018597A1 - Nucleotide sequences which code for the csta gene from corynebacterium glutamicum

Info

Publication number: WO2002018597A1
Application number: PCT/EP2001/008601
Authority: WO
Inventors: Bettina Möckel; Achim Marx; Walter Pfefferle; Mike Farwick; Thomas Hermann
Original assignee: Degussa Ag
Priority date: 2000-08-26
Filing date: 2001-07-25
Publication date: 2002-03-07
Also published as: DE10042051A1; US20020137912A1; EP1311683A1; EP1311683B1; ES2254463T3; US6972190B2; DE60115913D1; US20050266534A1; AU2001282022A1; ATE312924T1; DE60115913T2

Abstract

The invention relates to an isolated polynucleotide comprising a polynucleotide sequence chosen from the group consisting of a) polynucleotide which is identical to the extent of at least 70% to a polynucleotide which codes for a polypeptide which comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID No. 2, b) polynucleotide which codes for a polypeptide which comprises an amino acid sequence which is identical to the extent of at least 70% to the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID No. 2, c) polynucleotide which is complementary to the polynucleotides of a) or b), andd) polynucleotide comprising at least 15 successive nucleotides of the polynucleotide sequence of a), b) or c) and a process for the fermentative preparation of L-amino acids using coryneform bacteria in which at least the cstA gene is present in enhanced form, and the use of the polynucleotide sequences as hybridization probes.

Description

Nucleotide sequences which code for the cstA gene

Field of the Invention

The invention provides nucleotide sequences from coryneform bacteria which code for the cstA gene and a process for the fermentative preparation of amino acids, in particular L- lysine, using bacteria in which the cstA gene is enhanced.

Prior Art

L-Amino acids, in particular L-lysine, are used in human medicine and in the pharmaceuticals industry, in the foodstuffs industry and very particularly in animal nutrition.

It is known that amino acids are prepared by fermentation from strains of coryneform bacteria, in particular Corynebacterium glutamicum. Because of their great importance, work is constantly being undertaken to improve the preparation processes. Improvements to the process can relate to fermentation measures, such as, for example, stirring and supply of oxygen, or the composition of the nutrient media, such as, for example, the sugar concentration during the fermentation, or the working up to the product form by, for example, ion exchange chromatography, or the intrinsic output properties of the microorganism itself.

Methods of mutagenesis, selection and mutant selection are used to improve the output properties of these microorganisms. Strains which are resistant to antimetabolites or are auxotrophic for metabolites of regulatory importance and produce amino acids are obtained in this manner.

Methods of the recombinant DNA technique have also been employed for some years for improving the strain of Corynebacterium strains which produce L-amino acid, by amplifying individual amino acid biosynthesis genes and investigating the effect on the amino acid production.

Object of the Invention

Where -amino acids or amino acids are mentioned in the following, this means one or more amino acids, including their salts, chosen from the group consisting of L- asparagine, L-threonine, L-serine, L-glutamate, L-glycine, L-alanine, L-cysteine, L-valine, L-methionine, L- isoleucine, L-leucine, L-tyrosine, L-phenylalanine, L- histidine, L-lysine, L-tryptophan and L-arginine.

The inventors had the object of providing new measures for improved fermentative preparation of amino acids, in particular L-lysine.

Summary of the Invention

When lysine or L-lysine are mentioned in the following, not only the base but also the salts, such as e.g. lysine monohydrochloride or lysine sulfate, are meant by this.

The invention provides an isolated polynucleotide from coryneform bacteria, comprising a polynucleotide sequence which codes for the cstA gene, chosen from the group consisting of

a) polynucleotide which is identical to the extent of at least 70% to a polynucleotide which codes for a polypeptide which comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID No. 2,

b) polynucleotide which codes for a polypeptide which comprises an amino acid sequence which is identical to the extent of at least 70% to the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID No. 2,

c) polynucleotide which is complementary to the polynucleotides of a) or b|, and d) polynucleotide comprising at least 15 successive nucleotides of the polynucleotide sequence of a) , b) or c), the polypeptide preferably having the activity of carbon starvation protein A.

The invention also provides the above-mentioned polynucleotide, this preferably being a DNA which is capable of replication, comprising:

(i) the nucleotide sequence shown in SEQ ID No. 1, or

(ii) at least one sequence which corresponds to sequence (i) within the range of the degeneration of the genetic code, or

(iii) at least one sequence which hybridizes with the sequence complementary to sequence (i) or (ii) , ' and optionally

(iv) sense mutations of neutral function in (i) .

The invention also provides

a polynucleotide comprising the nucleotide sequence as shown in SEQ ID No. 1; a polynucleotide which codes for a polypeptide which comprises the amino acid sequence as shown in SEQ ID No. 2;

a vector containing the polynucleotide according to the invention, in particular a shuttle vector or plasmid vector, and

coryneform bacteria serving as the host cell, which contain the vector or in which the cstA gene is enhanced.

The invention also provides polynucleotides which substantially comprise a polynucleotide sequence, which are obtainable by screening by means of hybridization of a corresponding gene library of a coryneform bacterium, which comprises the complete gene or parts thereof, with a probe which comprises the sequence of the polynucleotide according to the invention according to SEQ ID No.l or a fragment thereof, and isolation of the polynucleotide sequence mentioned.

Detailed Description of the Invention

Polynucleotide sequences according to the invention are suitable as hybridization probes for RNA, cDNA and DNA, in order to isolate, in the full length, nucleic acids or polynucleotides or genes which code for carbon starvation protein A, or to isolate those nucleic acids or polynucleotides or genes which have a high similarity of sequence with that of the cstA gene. They are also suitable for incorporation into so-called "arrays", "micro arrays" or "DNA chips" in order to detect and determine the corresponding polynucleotides.

Polynucleotide sequences according to the invention are furthermore suitable as primers with the aid of which DNA of genes which code for carbon starvation protein A can be prepared with the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) .

Such oligonucleotides which serve as probes or primers comprise at least 30, preferably at least 20, very particularly preferably at least 15 successive nucleotides. Oligonucleotides which have a length of at least 40 or 50 nucleotides are also suitable. Oligonucleotides with a length of at least 100, 150, 200, 250 or 300 nucleotides are optionally also suitable.

"Isolated" means separated out of its natural environment.

"Polynucleotide" in general relates to polyribonucleotides and polydeoxyribonucleotides, it being possible for these to be non-modified RNA or DNA or modified RNA or DNA. The polynucleotides according to the invention include a polynucleotide according to SEQ ID No. 1 or a fragment prepared therefrom and also those which are at least 70% to 80%, preferably at least 81% to 85%, particularly preferably at least 86% to 90%, and very particularly preferably at least 91%, 93%, 95%, 97% or 99% identical to the polynucleotide according to SEQ ID No. 1 or a fragment prepared therefrom.

"Polypeptides" are understood as meaning peptides or proteins which comprise two or more amino acids bonded via peptide bonds .

The polypeptides according to the invention include a polypeptide according to SEQ ID No. 2, in particular those with the biological activity- of carbon starvation protein A, and also those which are at least 70% to 80%, preferably at least 81% to 85%, particularly preferably at least 91%, 93%, 95%, 97% or 99% identical to the polypeptide according to SEQ ID No. 2 and have the activity mentioned.

The invention moreover provides a process for the fermentative preparation of amino acids, in particular L- lysine, using coryneform bacteria which in particular already produce amino acids, and in which the nucleotide sequences which code for the cstA gene are enhanced, in particular over-expressed.

The term "enhancement" in this connection describes the increase in the intracellular activity of one or more enzymes in a microorganism which are coded by the corresponding DNA, for example by increasing the number of copies of the gene or genes, using a potent promoter or using a gene which codes for a corresponding enzyme having a high activity, and optionally combining these measures.

By enhancement measures, in particular over-expression, the activity or concentration of the corresponding protein is in general increased by at least 10%, 25%, 50%, 75%, 100%, 150%, 200%, 300%, 400% or 500%, up to a maximum of 1000% or 2000%, based on the starting microorganism.

The microorganisms which the present invention provides can prepare L-amino acids, in particular L-lysine, from glucose, sucrose, lactose, fructose, maltose, molasses, starch, cellulose or from glycerol and ethanol . They can be representatives of coryneform bacteria, in particular of the genus Corynebacterium. Of the genus Corynebacterium, there may be mentioned in particular the species

Corynebacterium glutamicum, which is known among experts for its ability to produce L-amino acids.

Suitable strains of the genus Corynebacterium, in particular of the species Corynebacterium glutamicum (C. glutamicum) , are in particular the known wild-type strains

Corynebacterium glutamicum ATCC13032 Corynebacterium acetoglutamicum ATCC15806 Corynebacterium acetoacidophilum ATCC13870 Corynebacterium thermoaminogenes FERM BP-1539 Corynebacterium melassecola ATCC17965

Brevibacterium flavum ATCC14067 Brevibacteriu lactofermentum ATCC13869 and Brevibacterium divaricatum ATCC14020

and L-lysine-producing mutants or strains prepared therefrom, such as, for example

Corynebacterium glutamicum FERM-P 1709 Brevibacterium flavum FERM-P 1708 Brevibacterium lactofermentum FERM-P 1712 Corynebacterium glutamicum FERM-P 6463 Corynebacterium glutamicum FERM-P 6464 and

Corynebacterium glutamicum DSM5715. The inventors have succeeded in isolating the new cstA gene of C. glutamicum which codes for carbon starvation protein A.

To isolate the cstA gene or also other genes of C. glutamicum, a gene library of this microorganism is first set up in Escherichia coli (E. coli) . The setting up of gene libraries is described in generally known textbooks and handbooks. The textbook by Winnacker: Gene und Klone, Eine Einfϋhrung in die Gentechnologie [Genes and Clones, An Introduction to Genetic Engineering] (Verlag Chemie,

Weinheim, Germany, 1990) , or the handbook by Sambrook et al.: Molecular Cloning, A Laboratory Manual (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, 1989) may be mentioned as an example. A well-known gene library is that of the E. coli K-12 strain 3110 set up in λ vectors by Kohara et al.

(Cell 50, 495 -508 (1987)). Bathe et al. (Molecular and General Genetics, 252:255-265, 1996) describe a gene library of C. glutamicum ATCC13032, which was set up with the aid of the cosmid vector SuperCos I (Wahl et al., 1987, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA,

84:2160-2164) in the E. coli K-12 strain NM554 (Raleigh et al., 1988, Nucleic Acids Research 16:1563-1575).

Bδrmann et al. (Molecular Microbiology 6(3), 317-326) (1992)) in turn describe a gene library of C. glutamicum ATCC13032 using the cosmid pHC79 (Hohn and Collins, Gene 11, 291-298 (1980) ) .

To prepare a gene library of C. glutamicum in E. coli it is also possible to use plasmids such as pBR322 (Bolivar, Life Sciences, 25, 807-818 (1979)) or pUC9 (Vieira et al., 1982, Gene, 19:259-268) . Suitable hosts are, in particular, those E. coli strains which are restriction- and recombination-defective. An example of these is the strain DH5αmcr, which has been described by Grant et al. (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA, 87 (1990) 4645-4649). The long DNA fragments cloned with the aid of cosmids can in turn be subcloned in the usual vectors suitable for sequencing and then sequenced, as is described e.g. by Sanger et al. (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 74:5463-5467, 1977).

The resulting DNA sequences can then be investigated with known algorithms or sequence analysis programs, such as e.g. that of Staden (Nucleic Acids Research 14, 217- 232(1986)), that of Marck (Nucleic Acids Research 16, 1829- 1836 (1988)) or the GCG program of Butler (Methods of Biochemical Analysis 39, 74-97 (1998)).

The new DNA sequence of C. glutamicum which codes for the cstA gene and which, as SEQ ID No. 1, is a constituent of the present invention has been obtained in this manner. The amino acid sequence of the corresponding protein has furthermore been derived from the present DNA sequence by the methods described above . The resulting amino acid sequence of the cstA gene product is shown in SEQ ID No. 2.

Coding DNA sequences which result from SEQ ID No. 1 by the degeneracy of the genetic code are also a constituent of the invention. In the same way, DNA sequences which hybridize with SEQ ID No. 1 or parts of SEQ ID No. 1 are a constituent of the invention. Conservative amino acid exchanges, such as e.g. exchange of glycine for alanine or of aspartic acid for glutamic acid in proteins, are furthermore known among experts as "sense mutations" which do not lead to a fundamental change in the activity of the protein, i.e. are of neutral function. It is furthermore known that changes on the N and/or C terminus of a protein cannot substantially impair or can even stabilize the function thereof. Information in this context can be found by the expert, inter alia, in Ben-Bassat et al . (Journal of Bacteriology 169:751-757 (1987)), in O'Regan et al. (Gene 77:237-251 (1989)), in Sahin-Toth et al. (Protein Sciences 3:240-247 (1994)), in Hochuli et al. (Bio/Technology 6:1321-1325 (1988)) and in known textbooks of genetics and molecular biology. Amino acid sequences which result in a corresponding manner from SEQ ID No. 2 are also a constituent of the invention. In the same way, DNA sequences which hybridize with SEQ ID No. 1 or parts of SEQ ID No. 1 are a constituent of the invention. Finally, DNA sequences which are prepared by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using primers which result from SEQ ID No. 1 are a constituent of the invention. Such oligonucleotides typically have a length of at least 15 nucleotides.

Instructions for identifying DNA sequences by means of hybridization can be found by the expert, inter alia, in the handbook "The DIG System Users Guide for Filter Hybridization" from Boehringer Mannheim GmbH (Mannheim,

Germany, 1993) and in Liebl et al . (International Journal of Systematic Bacteriology (1991) 41: 255-260). The hybridization takes place under stringent conditions, that is to say only hybrids in which the probe and target sequence, i.e. the polynucleotides treated with the probe, are at least 70% identical are formed. It is known that the stringency of the hybridization, including the washing steps, is influenced or determined by varying the buffer composition, the temperature and the salt concentration. The hybridization reaction is preferably carried out under a relatively low stringency compared with the washing steps (Hybaid Hybridisation Guide, Hybaid Limited, Teddington, UK, 1996) .

A 5x SSC buffer at a temperature of approx. 50 - 68°C, for example, can be employed for the hybridization reaction. Probes can also hybridize here with polynucleotides which are less than 70% identical to the sequence of the probe. Such hybrids are less stable and are removed by washing under stringent conditions. This can be achieved, for example, by lowering the salt concentration to 2x SSC and subsequently 0.5x SSC (The DIG System User's Guide for Filter Hybridisation, Boehringer Mannheim, Mannheim, Germany, 1995) a temperature of approx. 50 - 68°C being established. It is optionally possible to lower the salt concentration to 0. lx SSC. Polynucleotide fragments which are, for example, at least 70% or at least 80% or at least 90% to 95% identical to the sequence of the probe employed can be isolated by increasing the hybridization temperature stepwise in steps of approx. 1 - 2°C. Further instructions on hybridization are obtainable on the market in the form of so-called kits (e.g. DIG Easy Hyb from Roche Diagnostics GmbH, Mannheim, Germany, Catalogue No. 1603558) ,

Instructions for amplification of DNA sequences with the aid of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) can be found by the expert, inter alia, in the handbook by Gait:

Oligonucleotide Synthesis: A Practical Approach (IRL Press, Oxford, UK, 1984) and in Newton and Graham: PCR (Spektrum Akademischer Verlag, Heidelberg, Germany, 1994).

It has been found that coryneform bacteria produce amino acids, in particular L-lysine, in an improved manner after over-expression of the cstA gene.

To achieve an over-expression, the number of copies of the corresponding genes can be increased, or the promoter and regulation region or the ribosome binding site upstream of the structural gene can be mutated. Expression cassettes which are incorporated upstream of the structural gene act in the same way. By inducible promoters, it is additionally possible to increase the expression in the course of fermentative lysine production. The expression is likewise improved by measures to prolong the life of the m-RNA. Furthermore, the enzyme activity is also increased by preventing the degradation of the enzyme protein. The genes or gene constructs can either be present in plasmids with a varying number of copies, or can be integrated and amplified in the chromosome. Alternatively, an over- expression of the genes in question can furthermore be achieved by changing the composition of the media and the culture procedure.

Instructions in this context can be found by the expert, inter alia, in Martin et al. (Bio/Technology 5, 137-146 (1987)), in Guerrero et al. (Gene 138, 35-41 (1994)), Tsuchiya and Morinaga (Bio/Technology 6, 428-430 (1988)), in Eikmanns et al. (Gene 102, 93-98 (1991)), in European Patent Specification 0 472 869, in US Patent 4,601,893, in Schwarzer and Puhler (Bio/Technology 9, 84-87 (1991), in Reinscheid et al. (Applied and Environmental Microbiology 60, 126-132 (1994)), in LaBarre et al. (Journal of Bacteriology 175, 1001-1007 (1993)), in Patent Application WO 96/15246, in Malumbres et al. (Gene 134, 15 - 24 (1993) ) , in Japanese Laid-Open Specification JP-A-10- 229891, in Jensen and Hammer (Biotechnology and Bioengineering 58, 191-195 (1998)), in Makrides (Microbiological Reviews 60:512-538 (1996)) and in known textbooks of genetics and molecular biology.

By way of example, for enhancement the cstA gene according to the invention was over-expressed with the aid of episomal plasmids. Suitable plasmids are those which are replicated in coryneform bacteria. Numerous known plasmid vectors, such as e.g. pZl (Menkel et al., Applied and Environmental Microbiology (1989) 64: 549-554), pEKExl

(Eikmanns et al., Gene 102:93-98 (1991)) or pHS2-l (Sonnen et al., Gene 107:69-74 (1991)) are based on the cryptic plasmids pHMl519, pBLl or pGAl . Other plasmid vectors, such as e.g. those based on pCG4 (US-A 4,489,160), or pNG2 (Serwold-Davis et al., FEMS Microbiology Letters 66, 119- 124 (1990)), or pAGl (US-A 5,158,891), can be used in the same manner.

Plasmid vectors which are furthermore suitable are also those with the aid of which the process of gene amplification by integration into the chromosome can be used, as has been described, for example, by Reinscheid et al. (Applied and Environmental Microbiology 60, 126-132 (1994)) for duplication or amplification of the hom-thrB operon. In this method, the complete gene is cloned in a plasmid vector which can replicate in a host (typically E. coli), but not in C. glutamicum. Possible vectors are, for example, pSUP301 (Simon et al., Bio/Technology 1, 784-791 (1983)), pKlδmob or pK19mob (Schafer et al., Gene 145, 69- 73 (1994)), pGEM-T (Promega corporation, Madison, WI, USA), pCR2.1-TOPO (Shuman (1994). Journal of Biological Chemistry 269:32678-84; US-A 5,487,993), pCR®Blunt (Invitrogen, Groningen, Holland; Bernard et al., Journal of Molecular Biology, 234: 534-541 (1993)), pEMl (Schrumpf et al, 1991, Journal of Bacteriology 173:4510-4516) or pBGS8 ^'(Spratt et al.,1986, Gene 41: 337-342). The plasmid vector which contains the gene to be amplified is then transferred into the desired strain of C. glutamicum by conjugation or transformation. The method of conjugation is described, for example, by Schafer et al . (Applied and Environmental Microbiology 60, 756-759 (1994)). Methods for transformation are described, for example, by Thierbach et al. (Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology 29, 356-362 (1988)), Dunican and Shivnan (Bio/Technology 7, 1067-1070 (1989)) and Tauch et al. (FEMS Microbiological Letters 123, 343-347 (1994)). After homologous recombination by means of a "cross over" event, the resulting strain contains at least two copies of the gene in question.

In addition, it may be advantageous for the production of amino acids, in particular L-lysine, to enhance one or more enzymes of the particular biosynthesis pathway, of glycolysis, of anaplerosis, of the citric acid cycle or of amino acid export and optionally regulatory proteins, in addition to the cstA gene . Thus, for example, for the preparation of amino acids, in particular L-lysine, one or more genes chosen from the group consisting of

• the dapA gene which codes for dihydrodipicolinate synthase (EP-B 0 197 335),

• the gap gene which codes for glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (Eikmanns (1992) , Journal of Bacteriology 174:6076-6086) ,

• the tpi gene which codes for triose phosphate isomerase (Eikmanns (1992), Journal of Bacteriology 174:6076-6086),

• the pgk gene which codes for 3-phosphoglycerate kinase

(Eikmanns (1992), Journal of Bacteriology 174:6076-6086),

• the pyc gene which codes for pyruvate carboxylase

(Peters-Wendisch et al. (Microbiology 144, 915 - 927 (1998)),

• the lysC gene which codes for a feed back resistant aspartate kinase (Accession NO.P26512; EP-B-0387527 ; EP- A-0699759) ,

• the lysE gene which codes for lysine export (DE-A-195 48 222) ,

• the zwal gene which codes for the Zwal protein (DE: 19959328.0, DSM 13115)

can be enhanced, in particular over-expressed.

It may furthermore be advantageous for the production of amino acids, in particular L-lysine, in addition to the enhancement of the cstA gene, for one or more genes chosen from the group consisting of

• the pck gene which codes for phosphoenol pyruvate carboxykinase (DE 199 50 409.1; DSM 13047), • the pgi gene which codes for glucose 6-phosphate iso erase (US 09/396,478; DSM 12969),

• the poxB gene which codes for pyruvate oxidase (DE: 1995 1975.7; DSM 13114) ,

• the zwa2 gene which codes for the Zwa2 protein (DE: 19959327.2, DSM 13113)

to be attenuated, in particular for the expression thereof to be reduced.

The term "attenuation" in this connection describes the reduction or elimination of the intracellular activity of one or more enzymes (proteins) in a microorganism which are coded by the corresponding DNA, for example by using a weak promoter or using a gene or allele which codes for a corresponding enzyme with a low activity or inactivates the corresponding gene or enzyme (protein) , and optionally combining these measures.

By attenuation measures, the activity or concentration of the corresponding protein is in general reduced to 0 to 50%, 0 to 25%, 0 to 10% or 0 to 5% of the activity or concentration of the wild-type protein.

In addition to over-expression of the cstA gene it may furthermore be advantageous, for the production of amino acids, in particular L-lysine, to eliminate undesirable side reactions, (Nakayama: "Breeding of Amino Acid Producing Micro-organisms", in: Overproduction of Microbial Products, Krumphanzl, Sikyta, Vanek (eds.), Academic Press, London, UK, 1982) .

The microorganisms prepared according to the invention can be cultured continuously or discontinuously in the batch process (batch culture) or in the fed batch (feed process) or repeated fed batch process (repetitive feed process) for the purpose of production of amino acids, in particular L- lysine. A summary of known culture methods is described in the textbook by Chmiel (Bioprozesstechnik 1. Einfϋhrung in die Bioverfahrenstechnik [Bioprocess Technology 1. Introduction to Bioprocess Technology (Gustav Fischer Verlag, Stuttgart, 1991) ) or in the textbook by Storhas

(Bioreaktoren und periphere Einrichtungen [Bioreactors and Peripheral Equipment] (Vieweg Verlag, Braunschweig/Wiesbaden, 1994) ) .

The culture medium to be used must meet the requirements of the particular strains in a suitable manner. Descriptions of culture media for various microorganisms are contained in the handbook "Manual of Methods for General Bacteriology" of the American Society for Bacteriology (Washington D.C., USA, 1981).

Sugars and carbohydrates, such as e.g. glucose, sucrose, lactose, fructose, maltose, molasses, starch and cellulose, oils and fats, such as e.g. soya oil, sunflower oil, groundnut oil and coconut fat, fatty acids, such as e.g. palmitic acid, stearic acid and linoleic acid, alcohols, such as e.g. glycerol and ethanol, and organic acids, such as e.g. acetic acid, can be used as the source of carbon. These substance can be used individually or as a mixture.

Organic nitrogen-containing compounds, such as peptones, yeast extract, meat extract, malt extract, corn steep liquor, soya bean flour and urea, or inorganic compounds, such as ammonium sulf te, ammonium chloride, ammonium phosphate, ammonium carbonate and ammonium nitrate, can be used as the source of nitrogen. The sources of nitrogen can be used individually or as a mixture.

Phosphoric acid, potassium dihydrogen phosphate or dipotassium hydrogen phosphate or the corresponding sodium- containing salts can be used as the source of phosphorus. The culture medium must furthermore comprise salts of metals, such as e. g. magnesium sulfate or iron sulfate, which are necessary for growth. Finally, essential growth substances, such as amino acids and vitamins, can be employed in addition to the above-mentioned substances . Suitable precursors can moreover be added to the culture medium. The starting substances mentioned can be added to the culture in the form of a single batch, or can be fed in during the culture in a suitable manner.

Basic compounds, such as sodium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide, ammonia or aqueous ammonia, or acid compounds, such as phosphoric acid or sulfuric acid, can be employed in a suitable manner to control the pH of the culture. Antifoams, such as e.g. fatty acid polyglycol esters, can be employed to control the development of foam. Suitable substances having a selective action, such as e.g. antibiotics, can be added to the medium to maintain the stability of plasmids. To maintain aerobic conditions, oxygen or oxygen-containing gas mixtures, such as e.g. air, are introduced into the culture. The temperature of the culture is usually 20°C to 45°C, and preferably 25°C to 40°C. Culturing is continued until a maximum of the desired product has formed. This target is usually reached within 10 hours to 160 hours.

The analysis of lysine can be carried out by ion exchange chromatography with subsequent ninhydrin derivation, as described by Spackman et al. (Analytical Chemistry, 30, (1958), 1190).

The process according to the invention is used for the fermentative preparation of amino acids, in particular L- lysine.

The following microorganisms have been deposited as pure cultures at the Deutsche Sammlung fur Mikroorganismen und Zellkulturen (DSMZ = German Collection of Microorganisms and Cell Cultures, Braunschweig, Germany) in accordance with the Budapest Treaty: • C. glutamicum strain DSM 5715/pEC-K18mob2 on 20th January 2000 as DSM 13245,

• Escherichia coli DH5alphamcr/pEC-K18mob2cstAexp on 22nd August 2000 as DSM 13671.

The present invention is explained in more detail in the following with the aid of embodiment examples .

The isolation of plasmid DNA from Escherichia coli and all techniques of restriction, Klenow and alkaline phosphatase treatment were carried out by the method of Sambrook et al . (Molecular Cloning. A Laboratory Manual (1989) Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, Cold Spring Harbor, NY, USA) . Methods for transformation of Escherichia coli are also described in this handbook.

The composition of the usual nutrient media, such as LB or TY medium, can also be found in the handbook by Sambrook et al.

Example 1

Preparation of a genomic cosmid gene library from Corynebacterium glutamicum ATCC 13032

Chromosomal DNA from Corynebacterium glutamicum ATCC 13032 was isolated as described by Tauch et al. (1995, Plasmid 33:168-179) and partly cleaved with the restriction enzyme Sau3AI (Amersham Pharmacia, Freiburg, Germany, Product Description Sau3AI, Code no. 27-0913-02) . The DNA fragments were dephosphorylated with shrimp alkaline phosphatase (Roche Diagnostics GmbH, Mannheim, Germany, Product Description SAP, Code no. 1758250) . The DNA of the cosmid vector SuperCosl (Wahl et al. (1987) Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 84:2160-2164), obtained from Stratagene (La Jolla, USA, Product

Description SuperCosl Cosmid Vector Kit, Code no. 251301) was cleaved with the restriction enzyme Xbal (Amersham Pharmacia, Freiburg, Germany, Product Description Xbal, Code no. 27-0948-02) and likewise dephosphorylated with shrimp alkaline phosphatase.

The cosmid DNA was then cleaved with the restriction enzyme BamHI (Amersham Pharmacia, Freiburg, Germany, Product

Description BamHI, Code no. 27-0868-04) . The cosmid DNA treated in this manner was mixed with the treated ATCC13032 DNA and the batch was treated with T4 DNA ligase (Amersham Pharmacia, Freiburg, Germany, Product Description T4-DNA- Ligase, Code no.27-0870-04) . The ligation mixture was then packed in phages with the aid of Gigapack II XL Packing Extract (Stratagene, La Jolla, USA, Product Description Gigapack II XL Packing Extract, Code no. 200217) .

For infection of the E. coli strain NM554 (Raleigh et al. 1988, Nucleic Acid Research 16:1563-1575) the cells were taken up in 10 mM MgS0 and mixed with an aliquot of the phage suspension. The infection and titering of the cosmid library were carried out as described by Sambrook et al. (1989, Molecular Cloning: A laboratory Manual, Cold Spring Harbor) , the cells being plated out on LB agar (Lennox, 1955, Virology, 1:190) with 100 mg/1 ampicillin. After incubation overnight at 37°C, recombinant individual clones were selected.

Example 2

Isolation and sequencing of the cstA gene

The cosmid DNA of an individual colony was isolated with the Qiaprep Spin Miniprep Kit (Product No. 27106, Qiagen, Hilden, Germany) in accordance with the manuf cturer's instructions and partly cleaved with the restriction enzyme Sau3AI (Amersham Pharmacia, Freiburg, Germany, Product Description Sau3AI, Product No. 27-0913-02). The DNA fragments were dephosphorylated with shrimp alkaline phosphatase (Roche Diagnostics GmbH, Mannheim, Germany, Product Description SAP, Product No. 1758250) . After separation by gel electrophoresis, the cosmid fragments in the size range of 1500 to 2000 bp were isolated with the QiaExII Gel Extraction Kit (Product No. 20021, Qiagen, Hilden, Germany) .

The DNA of the sequencing vector pZero-1, obtained from Invitrogen (Groningen, The Netherlands, Product Description Zero Background Cloning Kit, Product No. K2500-01) was cleaved with the restriction enzyme BamHI (Amersham Pharmacia, Freiburg, Germany, Product Description BamHI, Product No. 27-0868-04) . The ligation of the cosmid fragments in the sequencing vector pZero-1 was carried out as described by Sambrook et al. (1989, Molecular Cloning: A Laboratory Manual, Cold Spring Harbor) , the DNA mixture being incubated overnight with T4 ligase (Pharmacia

Biotech, Freiburg, Germany) . This ligation mixture was then electroporated (Tauch et al. 1994, FEMS Microbiol Letters, 123:343-7) into the E. coli strain DH5αMCR (Grant, 1990, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences U.S.A., 87:4645-4649) and plated out on LB agar (Lennox, 1955, Virology, 1:190) with 50 mg/1 zeocin.

The plasmid preparation of the recombinant clones was carried out with Biorobot 9600 (Product No. 900200, Qiagen, Hilden, Germany) . The sequencing was carried out by the dideoxy chain termination method of Sanger et al. (1977, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences U.S.A., 74:5463-5467) with modifications according to Zimmermann et al. (1990, Nucleic Acids Research, 18:1067) . The "RR dRhodamin Terminator Cycle Sequencing Kit" from PE Applied Biosystems (Product No. 403044, Weiterstadt, Germany) was used. The separation by gel electrophoresis and analysis of the sequencing reaction were carried out in a "Rotiphoresis NF Acrylamide/Bisacrylamide" Gel (29:1) (Product No. A124.1, Roth, Karlsruhe, Germany) with the "ABI Prism 377" sequencer from PE Applied Biosystems (Weiterstadt, Germany) .

The raw sequence data obtained were then processed using the Staden program package (1986, Nucleic Acids Research, 14:217-231) version 97-0. The individual sequences of the pZerol derivatives were assembled to a continuous contig. The computer-assisted coding region analysis was prepared with the XNIP program (Staden, 1986, Nucleic Acids Research, 14:217-231).

The resulting nucleotide sequence is shown in SEQ ID No. 1. Analysis of the nucleotide sequence showed an open reading frame of 2316 base pairs, which was called the cstA gene. The cstA gene codes for a protein of 772 amino acids (SEQ ID No.2) . The DNA section lying upstream of SEQ ID No. 1 was identified in the same way, this section being shown in SEQ ID No. 3. The cstA gene region extended by SEQ ID No. 3 is shown in SEQ ID No. 4.

Example 3 Preparation of a shuttle vector pEC-K18mob2cstAexp for enhancement of the cstA gene in C. glutamicum

3.1 Cloning of the cstA gene

From the strain ATCC 13032, chromosomal DNA was isolated by the method of Eikmanns et al. (Microbiology 140: 1817-1828 (1994) ) . On the basis of the sequence of the cstA gene known for C. glutamicum from example 2, the following oligonucleotides were chosen for the polymerase chain reaction (see SEQ ID No. 7 and SEQ ID No. 8) :

cstA-expl: 5^s CAC CCT ACT GAA CAG CTT GG 3^{^} cstA-exp2:

5^V CAG TGC ATG AGT AAG AGC CA 3^{^}

The primers shown were synthesized by ARK Scientific GmbH Biosystems (Darmstadt, Germany) and the PCR reaction was carried out by the standard PCR method of Innis et al. (PCR protocols. A guide to methods and application^'s, 1990, Academic Press) with Pwo-Polymerase from Roche Diagnostics GmbH (Mannheim, Germany) . With the aid of the polymerase chain reaction, the primers allow amplification of a DNA fragment approx. 2.7 kb in size, which carries the cstA gene with the potential promoter region. The DNA sequence of the amplified DNA fragment was checked by sequencing.

3.2 Preparation of the E. coli - C. glutamicum shuttle vector pEC-K18mob2

The E. coli - C. glutamicum shuttle vector was constructed according to the prior art. The vector contains the replication region rep of the plasmid pGAl including the replication effector per (US-A- 5,175,108; Nesvera et al., Journal of Bacteriology 179, 1525-1532 (1997)), the kanamycin resistance-imparting aph(3')-IIa gene of the transposon Tn5 (Beck et al., Gene 19, 327-336 (1982)), the replication region oriV of the plasmid pMBl (Sutcliffe, Cold Spring Harbor Symposium on Quantitative Biology 43, 77-90 (1979) ) , the lacZα gene fragment including the lac promoter and a multiple cloning site (mcs) (Norrander, J.M. et al., Gene 26, 101-106 (1983)) and the mob region of the plasmid RP4 (Simon et al., Bio/Technology 1:784-791 (1983)). The vector constructed was transformed in the E. coli strain DH5α (Hanahan, In: DNA Cloning. A Practical Approach. Vol. I, IRL-Press, Oxford, Washington DC, USA). Selection for plasmid-carrying cells was made by plating out the transformation batch on LB agar (Sambrook et al., Molecular cloning: A Laboratory Manual, 2^nd Ed., Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y.), which had been supplemented with 25 mg/1 kanamycin. Plasmid DNA was isolated from a transformant with the aid of the QIAprep Spin Miniprep Kit from Qiagen and checked by restriction with the restriction enzymes EcoRI and Hindlll with subsequent agarose gel electrophoresis (0.8%). The plasmid was called pEC-K18mob2 and is shown in figure 1.

3.3 Cloning of cstA in the E. coli-C. glutamicum shuttle vector pEC-K18mob2

The E. coli - C. glutamicum shuttle vector pEC-K18mob2 described in example 3.2 was used as the vector. DNA of this plasmid was cleaved completely with the restriction enzyme Ecll36II and then dephosphorylated with shrimp alkaline phosphatase (Roche Diagnostics GmbH, Mannheim, Germany, Product Description SAP, Product No. 1758250) .

The cstA fragment obtained as described in example 3.1 was mixed with the prepared vector pEC-K18mob2 and the batch was treated with T4 DNA ligase (Amersham Pharmacia, Freiburg, Germany, Product Description T4-DNA-Ligase, Code no.27-0870-04) . The ligation batch was transformed in the E. coli strain DH5αmcr (Grant, 1990, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences U.S.A., 87:4645-4649).

Selection of plasmid-carrying cells was made by plating out the transformation batch on LB agar (Lennox, 1955, Virology, 1:190) with 25 mg/1 kanamycin. After incubation overnight at 37°C, recombinant individual clones were selected. Plasmid DNA was isolated from a transformant with the Qiaprep Spin Miniprep Kit (Product No. 27106, Qiagen, Hilden, Germany) in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions and cleaved with the restriction enzymes EcoRI and Xbal to check the plasmid by subsequent agarose gel electrophoresis. The plasmid obtained was called pEC- Kl8mob2cstAexp. It is shown in figure 2. Example 4

Transformation of the strain DSM5715 with the plasmid pEC- K18mob2cstAexp

The strain DSM5 15 was transformed with the plasmid pEC- K18mob2cstAexp using the electroporation method described by Liebl et al . , (FEMS Microbiology Letters, 53:299-303 (1989)). Selection of the transformants took place on LBHIS agar comprising 18.5 g/1 brain-heart infusion broth, 0.5 M sorbitol, 5 g/1 Bacto-tryptone, 2.5 g/1 Bacto-yeast extract, 5 g/1 NaCl and 18 g/1 Bacto-agar, which had been supplemented with 25 mg/1 kanamycin. Incubation was carried out for 2 days at 33°C.

Plasmid DNA was isolated from a transformant by conventional methods (Peters-Wendisch et al., 1998, Microbiology, 144, 915 - 927) , cleaved with the restriction endonucleases EcoRI and Xbal, and the plasmid was checked by subsequent agarose gel electrophoresis. The strain obtained was called DSM5715/pEC-K18mob2cstAexp.

Example 5 Preparation of lysine

The C. glutamicum strain DSM5715/pEC-Kl8mob2cstAexp obtained in example 4 was cultured in a nutrient medium suitable for the production of lysine and the lysine content in the culture supernatant was determined.

For this, the strain was first incubated on an agar plate with the corresponding antibiotic (brain-heart agar with kanamycin (25 mg/1)) for 24 hours at 33°C. Starting from this agar plate culture, a preculture was seeded (10 ml medium in a 100 ml conical flask) . The complete medium Cglll was used as the medium for the preculture. Medium Cg III

NaCl 2.5 g/1

Bacto-Peptone 10 g/1

Bacto-Yeast extract 10 g/1

Glucose (autoclaved separately) 2% (w/v)

The pH was brought to pH 7.4

Kanamycin (25 mg/1) was added to this. The preculture was incubated for 16 hours at 33°C at 240 rpm on a shaking machine. A main culture was seeded from this preculture such that the initial OD (660nm) of the main culture was 0.05. Medium MM was used for the main culture.

Medium MM

CSL (corn steep liquor) 5 g/1

MOPS (morpholinopropanesulfonic acid) 20 g/1

Glucose (autoclaved separately) 50 g/1

(NH )₂S0₄ 25 g/1

KH₂P0₄ 0.1 g/1

MgS0₄ * 7 H₂0 1.0 g/1

CaCl₂ * 2 H₂0 10 mg/1

FeS0₄ * 7 H₂0 10 mg/1

MnS0₄ * H₂0 5.0mg/l

Biotin (sterile-filtered) 0.3 mg/1

Thiamine * HC1 (sterile-filtered) 0.2 mg/1

L-Leucine (sterile-filtered) 0.1 g/1

CaC0₃ 25 g/1

The CSL, MOPS and the salt solution were brought to pH 7 with aqueous ammonia and autoclaved. The sterile substrate and vitamin solutions were then added, as well as the CaC0₃ autoclaved in the dry state .

Culturing is carried out in a 10 ml volume in a 100 ml conical flask with baffles. Kanamycin (25 mg/1) was added. Culturing was carried out at 33°C and 80% atmospheric humidity. After 72 hours, the OD was determined at a measurement wavelength of 660 nm with a Bio ek 1000 (Beckmann Instruments GmbH, Munich) . The amount of lysine formed was determined with an amino acid analyzer from Eppendorf- BioTronik (Hamburg, Germany) by ion exchange chromatography and post-column derivation with ninhydrin detection.

The result of the experiment is shown in Table 1.

Table 1

Brief Description of the Figures:

Figure 1: Map of the plasmid pEC-Kl8mob2

Figure 2: Map of the plasmid pEC-Kl8mob2cstAexp

The abbreviations and designations used have the following meaning:

Kan: Resistance gene for kanamycin

cstA-exp: cstA gene from C. glutamicum

LacZ-alpha: lacZα gene fragment from E. coli

LacZ-alpha^x: 5 ' -Terminus of the lacZα gene fragment

^ΛLacZ-alpha: 3 ' -Terminus of the lacZα gene fragment

per: Gene for control of the number of copies from PGA1 oriV: ColEl-similar origin from pMBl

rep: Plasmid-coded replication region from C. glutamicum plasmid pGAl

RP4rrtob: RP4 mobilization site

EcoRI : Cleavage site of the restriction enzyme EcoRI HindiII: Cleavage site of the restriction enzyme

Hindlll

Ecll36:II: Cleavage site of the restriction enzyme

EC1136II Xbal: Cleavage site of the restriction enzyme Xbal

SEQUENCE PROTOCOL

<110> Degussa AG

<120> Nucleotide sequences which code for the cstA gene

<130> 000173 BT

<140> <141>

<160> 7

<170> Patentln Ver. 2.1

<210> 1

<211> 2718

<212> DNA

<213> Corynebacterium glutamicum

<220>

<221> CDS

<222> (200) .. (2515)

<223> cstA gene

<400> 1 aggatggtat aaatcatctc tcaatgttac ttttccattg ttaagaatta acaactctcg 60 gtgatttgtc gcatacccag ctgtcaaaga tccgatcatc ggcatacaga aacacccatc 120 tggccgaact ttσσtttttc tgcatgcatt tctgcacaca gtttctgccc gctgtttctg 180 cccgctgttt ctacgcata gtg get ttg aaa cga ccc gaa gag aaa aca gta 232

Met Ala Leu Lys Arg Pro Glu Glu Lys Thr Val 1 5 10 aag ate gtg ace ata aaa cag act gac aac ate aat gac gat gat ttg 280

Lys lie Val Thr lie Lys Gin Thr Asp Asn lie Asn Asp Asp Asp Leu 15 20 25 gtg tac age aac get act gac ctt cca gta ggc gtg aag aag tec cct 328

Val Tyr Ser Asn Ala Thr Asp Leu Pro Val Gly Val Lys Lys Ser Pro 30 35 40 aaa atg tea ccg acσ gee cgc gtt ggt etc ctt gtc ttt ggg gtt ate 376 Lys Met Ser Pro Thr Ala Arg Val Gly Leu Leu Val Phe Gly Val lie 45 50 55 gcg gcg gtg ggt tgg gga gca ate get ttc tec cgt ggc gaa aca ate 424 Ala Ala Val Gly Trp Gly Ala He Ala Phe Ser Arg Gly Glu Thr He 60 65 70 75 aac tct gtg tgg ctg gtt ttg gcg gca gtt ggt tec tat ate att gcg 472 Asn Ser Val Trp Leu Val Leu Ala Ala Val Gly Ser Tyr He He Ala 80 85 90 ttt tct ttc tat gcc cga ctg att gaa tac aaa gtt gtt aag ccg aaa 520 Phe Ser Phe Tyr Ala Arg Leu He Glu Tyr Lys Val Val Lys Pro Lys 95 100 105 gat cag cga gca ace ccg gcg gaa tac gtt aat gac ggc aag gac tat 568

Asp Gin Arg Ala Thr Pro Ala Glu Tyr Val Asn Asp Gly Lys Asp Tyr

110 115 120 gtc cca acg gat cgt cgt gtg ctt ttt ggc cac cac ttt gca get att 616

Val Pro Thr Asp Arg Arg Val Leu Phe Gly His His Phe Ala Ala He 125 130 135 gca ggt gcc ggt cca ttg gtt gga cct gtc atg gcc gcg cag atg ggc 664 Ala Gly Ala Gly Pro Leu Val Gly Pro Val Met Ala Ala Gin Met Gly 140 145 150 155 tac ctg cca ggc ace ttg tgg att ate etc ggt gtg att ttc gcc ggt 712 Tyr Leu Pro Gly Thr Leu Trp He He Leu Gly Val He Phe Ala Gly

160 165 170 gca gtg cag gac tac eta gtg ctg tgg gtg tct act cgt agg cgt gga 760 Ala Val Gin Asp Tyr Leu Val Leu Trp Val Ser Thr Arg Arg Arg Gly 175 180 185 cgc tea ctt ggc cag atg gtt cgt gat gaa atg ggc acg gtc ggt gga 808

Arg Ser Leu Gly Gin Met Val Arg Asp Glu Met Gly Thr Val Gly Gly

190 195 200 get gcc ggt ate ttg gcg ace ate tec ate atg ate ate att ate gcg 856

Ala Ala Gly He Leu Ala Thr He Ser He Met He He He He Ala

205 210 215 gtg etc gca ttg ate gtg gtt aat gca ctg get gat tea cca tgg ggc 904 Val Leu Ala Leu He Val Val Asn Ala Leu Ala Asp Ser Pro Trp Gly 220 225 230 235 gtt ttc tec ate ace atg ace ate cca att gca ctg ttc atg ggt gtg 952 Val Phe Ser He Thr Met Thr He Pro He Ala Leu Phe Met Gly Val

240 245 250 tac ttg cgt tac ctg cgc cca ggt cgt gtt act gaa gtg tec ate ate 1000 Tyr Leu Arg Tyr Leu Arg Pro Gly Arg Val Thr Glu Val Ser He He 255 260 265 ggt gtg gca ctg etc ctg ctg get ate gtt get ggt ggt tgg gtt gca 1048 Gly Val Ala Leu Leu Leu Leu Ala He Val Ala Gly Gly Trp Val Ala 270 275 280 gac ace tea tgg ggc gtg gaa tgg ttc ace tgg tct aag ace act ttg 1096 Asp Thr Ser Trp Gly Val Glu Trp Phe Thr Trp Ser Lys Thr Thr Leu 285 290 295 gcg ttg gcc ttg ate ggt tac gga ate atg get gcg att ttg ccg gtg 1144 Ala Leu Ala Leu He Gly Tyr Gly He Met Ala Ala He Leu Pro Val 300 305 310 315 tgg ctg ctg ctt gca ccg cgc gat tac ctg tct ace ttt atg aag ate 1192 Trp Leu Leu Leu Ala Pro Arg Asp Tyr Leu Ser Thr Phe Met Lys He

320 325 330 ggc gtc ate ggt ctg ttg gca gtg ggt att ttg ttc gca cgt cct gag 1240 Gly Val He Gly Leu Leu Ala Val Gly He Leu Phe Ala Arg Pro Glu 335 340 345 gtg cag atg cct tec gtg ace tec ttc gca ctt gag ggc aac ggt ccg 1288 Val Gin Met Pro Ser Val Thr Ser Phe Ala Leu Glu Gly Asn Gly Pro 350 355 360 gtg ttc tct gga agt ctg ttc cca ttc ctg ttc ate acg att gcc tgt 1336 Val Phe Ser Gly Ser Leu Phe Pro Phe Leu Phe He Thr He Ala Cys 365 370 375 ggt gca ctg tct ggt ttc cac gca ctg att tct tea gga ace aca cca 1384 Gly Ala Leu Ser Gly Phe His Ala Leu He Ser Ser Gly Thr Thr Pro 380 385 390 395 aag ctt gtg gag aag gaa tec cag atg cgc atg etc ggc tac ggc ggc 1432

Lys Leu Val Glu Lys Glu Ser Gin Met Arg Met Leu Gly Tyr Gly Gly

400 405 410 atg ttg atg gaa tct ttc gtg gcg atg atg gca ctg ate ace get gtt 1480

Met Leu Met Glu Ser Phe Val Ala Met Met Ala Leu He Thr Ala Val 415 420 425 att ctg gat cgt cac ctg tac ttc tec atg aac get ccg ctg gca ctg 1528 He Leu Asp Arg His Leu Tyr Phe Ser Met Asn Ala Pro Leu Ala Leu 430 435 440 act ggt gga gat cca gca ace gca get gag tgg gtt aac tec att ggg 1576 Thr Gly Gly Asp Pro Ala Thr Ala Ala Glu Trp Val Asn Ser He Gly 445 450 455 ctg aca ggt gcg gat ate ace ccg gaa cag ctg teg gaa get get gaa 1624 Leu Thr Gly Ala Asp He Thr Pro Glu Gin Leu Ser Glu Ala Ala Glu 460 465 470 475 agt gtc gga gaa tec act gtt att tec cgt ace ggt ggc gca cca ace 1672 Ser Val Gly Glu Ser Thr Val He Ser Arg Thr Gly Gly Ala Pro Thr 480 485 490 ttg gcg ttc ggt atg tct gaa ate etc tec gga ttc ate ggc ggc get 1720 Leu Ala Phe Gly Met Ser Glu He Leu Ser Gly Phe He Gly Gly Ala 495 500 505 gga atg aag gcg ttc tgg tac cac ttc gcc ate atg ttt gag get ctg 1768 Gly Met Lys Ala Phe Trp Tyr His Phe Ala He Met Phe Glu Ala Leu 510 515 520 ttc ate etc act act gtg gat gca ggt act cgt gtg get cgc ttt atg 1816 Phe He Leu Thr Thr Val Asp Ala .Gly Thr Arg Val Ala Arg Phe Met 525 530 535 atg ace gat ace ttg ggc aat gtt cca ggt ctg cgc cgt ttc aag gat 1864 Met Thr Asp Thr Leu Gly Asn Val Pro Gly Leu Arg Arg Phe Lys Asp 540 545 550 555 cct tea tgg act gtc ggt aac tgg att tct ace gtg ttt gtg tgt get 1912 Pro Ser Trp Thr Val Gly Asn Trp He Ser Thr Val Phe Val Cys Ala 560 565 570 eta tgg ggt get att ttg etc atg ggt gtt ace gat cca ctg ggc ggc 1960 Leu Trp Gly Ala He Leu Leu Met Gly Val Thr Asp Pro Leu Gly Gly 575 580 585 ate aac gtg ctt ttc cca eta ttc ggt ate get aac cag ctg etc gcc 2008 He Asn Val Leu Phe Pro Leu Phe Gly He Ala Asn Gin Leu Leu Ala 590 595 600 get att gca ctt get etc gtg ctg gtt gtt gtg gtg aag aag ggc ctg 2056 Ala He Ala Leu Ala Leu Val Leu Val Val Val Val Lys Lys Gly Leu 605 610 615 tac aag tgg gcg tgg att cca get gtt cct ttg gca tgg gat etc att 2104 Tyr Lys Trp Ala Trp He Pro Ala Val Pro Leu Ala Trp Asp Leu He 620 625 630 635 gtc acg atg act gcg tea tgg cag aag att tte cac tct gat ecg get 2152 Val Thr Met Thr Ala Ser Trp Gin Lys He Phe His Ser Asp Pro Ala 640 645 650 att ggc tac tgg get cag aac gcg aac ttc cgc gat gca aag tct caa 2200 He Gly Tyr Trp Ala Gin Asn Ala Asn Phe Arg Asp Ala Lys Ser Gin 655 660 665 ggc ctt ace gaa ttt ggt gcc get aaa tct cct gag gca ate gat gcg 2248 Gly Leu Thr Glu Phe Gly Ala Ala Lys Ser Pro Glu Ala He Asp Ala 670 675 680 gtt ate cga aac ace atg att cag ggc ate ttg tec ate ctg ttc gcg 2296 Val He Arg Asn Thr Met He Gin Gly He Leu Ser He Leu Phe Ala 685 690 695

•gtg etc gtc etc gtt gtt gtc ggc gca gcc att gcg gtg tgc ate aag 2344 Val Leu Val Leu Val Val Val Gly Ala Ala He Ala Val Cys He Lys 700 705 710 715 tec ate agg get cgt gca gcc gga aca cct ttg gag ace act gaa gag 2392 Ser He Arg Ala Arg Ala Ala Gly Thr Pro Leu Glu Thr Thr Glu Glu 720 725 730 cct gat act gaa tct gag ttc ttc gcc cca act gga ttc ctt gca tct 2440

Pro Asp Thr Glu Ser Glu Phe Phe Ala Pro Thr Gly Phe Leu Ala Ser

735 740 745 tec agg gat aag gaa gtc cag gcc atg tgg gac gag cgc tac cca ggc 2488

Ser Arg Asp Lys Glu Val Gin Ala Met Trp Asp Glu Arg Tyr Pro Gly

750 755 760 ggt gcg ccc gtg tct tct gga ggg cac taaaacatga tggctcttac 2535 Gly Ala Pro Val Ser Ser Gly Gly His 765 770 tcatgeactg tggaaaatcc cgcgggcggt gtggtggtat ctcactgage teatggggga 2595 caeggegtat tecaagtatg tggtgcactt aaageaccac catccggatg ctccgattcc 2655 tactgagcgg gagtattggc gggeaaagta tgcagatcag gacgctaatc ctggtgcccg 2715 ctg 2718

<210> 2 <211> 772 <212> PRT <213> Corynebacterium glutamicum

<400> 2 Met Ala Leu Lys Arg Pro Glu Glu Lys Thr Val Lys He Val Thr He 1 5 10 15

Lys Gin Thr Asp Asn He Asn Asp Asp Asp Leu Val Tyr Ser Asn Ala 20 25 30

Thr Asp Leu Pro Val Gly Val Lys Lys Ser Pro Lys Met Ser Pro Thr 35 40 45

Ala Arg Val Gly Leu Leu Val Phe Gly Val He Ala Ala Val Gly Trp 50 55 60

Gly Ala He Ala Phe Ser Arg Gly Glu Thr He Asn Ser Val Trp Leu

65 70 75 80 Val Leu Ala Ala Val Gly Ser Tyr He He Ala Phe Ser Phe Tyr Ala

^{" ••} 85 90 95

Arg Leu He Glu Tyr Lys Val Val Lys Pro Lys Asp Gin Arg Ala Thr 100 105 110

Pro Ala Glu Tyr Val Asn Asp Gly Lys Asp Tyr Val Pro Thr Asp Arg 115 120 125

Arg Val Leu Phe Gly His His Phe Ala Ala He Ala Gly Ala Gly Pro 130 135 140

Leu Val Gly Pro Val Met Ala Ala Gin Met Gly Tyr Leu Pro Gly Thr

145 150 155 160 Leu Trp He He Leu Gly Val He Phe Ala Gly Ala Val Gin Asp Tyr

165 170 175

Leu Val Leu Trp Val Ser Thr Arg Arg Arg Gly Arg Ser Leu Gly Gin 180 185 190

Met Val Arg Asp Glu Met Gly Thr Val Gly Gly Ala Ala Gly He Leu 195 200 205

Ala Thr He Ser He Met He He He He Ala Val Leu Ala Leu He 210 215 220

Val Val Asn Ala Leu Ala Asp Ser Pro Trp Gly Val Phe Ser He Thr 225 230 235 240 Met Thr He Pro He Ala Leu Phe Met Gly Val Tyr Leu Arg Tyr Leu

245 250 255

Arg Pro Gly Arg Val Thr Glu Val Ser He He Gly Val Ala Leu Leu 260 265 270 Leu Leu Ala He Val Ala Gly Gly Trp Val Ala Asp Thr Ser Trp Gly 275 280 285

Val Glu Trp Phe Thr Trp Ser Lys Thr Thr Leu Ala Leu Ala Leu He 290 295 300

Gly Tyr Gly He Met Ala Ala He Leu Pro Val Trp Leu Leu Leu Ala 305 310 315 320

Pro Arg Asp Tyr Leu Ser Thr Phe Met Lys He Gly Val He Gly Leu 325 330 335

Leu Ala Val Gly He Leu Phe Ala Arg Pro Glu Val Gin Met Pro Ser 340 345 350

Val Thr Ser Phe Ala Leu Glu Gly Asn Gly Pro Val Phe Ser Gly Ser

355 360 365 Leu Phe Pro Phe Leu Phe He Thr He Ala Cys Gly Ala Leu Ser Gly 370 375 380

Phe His Ala Leu He Ser Ser Gly Thr Thr Pro Lys Leu Val Glu Lys 385 390 395 400

Glu Ser Gin Met Arg Met Leu Gly Tyr Gly Gly Met Leu Met Glu Ser 405 410 415

Phe Val Ala Met Met Ala Leu He Thr Ala Val He Leu Asp Arg His 420 425 430

Leu Tyr Phe Ser Met Asn Ala Pro Leu Ala Leu Thr Gly Gly Asp Pro 435 440 . 445 Ala Thr Ala Ala Glu Trp Val Asn Ser He Gly Leu Thr Gly Ala Asp 450 455 460

He Thr Pro Glu Gin Leu Ser Glu Ala Ala Glu Ser Val Gly Glu Ser 465 470 475 480

Thr Val He Ser Arg Thr Gly Gly Ala Pro Thr Leu Ala Phe Gly Met 485 490 495

Ser Glu He Leu Ser Gly Phe He Gly Gly Ala Gly Met Lys Ala Phe 500 505 510

Trp Tyr His Phe Ala He Met Phe Glu Ala Leu Phe He Leu Thr Thr 515 520 525 Val Asp Ala Gly Thr Arg Val Ala Arg Phe Met Met Thr Asp Thr Leu 530 535 540

Gly Asn Val Pro Gly Leu Arg Arg Phe Lys Asp Pro Ser Trp Thr Val 545 550 555 560

Gly Asn Trp He Ser Thr Val Phe Val Cys Ala Leu Trp Gly Ala He 565 570 575 Leu Leu Met Gly Val Thr Asp Pro Leu Gly Gly He Asn Val Leu Phe 580 585 590

Pro Leu Phe Gly He Ala Asn Gin Leu Leu Ala Ala He Ala Leu Ala 595 600 605

Leu Val Leu Val Val Val Val Lys Lys Gly Leu Tyr Lys Trp Ala Trp 610 615 620 He Pro Ala Val Pro Leu Ala Trp Asp Leu He Val Thr Met Thr Ala 625 630 635 640

Ser Trp Gin Lys He Phe His Ser Asp Pro Ala He Gly Tyr Trp Ala

645 650 655

Gin Asn Ala Asn Phe Arg Asp Ala Lys Ser Gin Gly Leu Thr Glu Phe 660 665 670

Gly Ala Ala Lys Ser Pro Glu Ala He Asp Ala Val He Arg Asn Thr 675 680 685

Met He Gin Gly He Leu Ser He Leu Phe Ala Val Leu Val Leu Val

690 695 700 Val Val Gly Ala Ala He Ala Val Cys He Lys Ser He Arg Ala Arg 705 710 715 720

Ala Ala Gly Thr Pro Leu Glu Thr Thr Glu Glu Pro Asp Thr Glu Ser 725 730 735

Glu Phe Phe Ala Pro Thr Gly Phe Leu Ala Ser Ser Arg Asp Lys Glu 740 745 750

Val Gin Ala Met Trp Asp Glu Arg Tyr Pro Gly Gly Ala Pro Val Ser 755 760 765

Ser Gly Gly His 770

<210> 3 <211> 149 <212> DNA <213> Corynebacterium glutamicum

<220>

<223> upstream region <400> 3 caccctactg aacagettgg tctattgcaa tagactgtgt ggtataaatt tattctcggg 60 taattttctt gactttttcc aactgatttg aaatcgattg cgtacagcta gggttatggg 120 ggtatgacta gccccactct aaatggtgt 149

<210> 4

<211> 2867

<212> DNA

<213> Corynebacterium glutamicum <220>

<221> CDS

<222> ( 349) . . ( 2664)

<223> cstA-Gen

<400> 4 caccctactg aacagettgg tctattgcaa tagactgtgt ggtataaatt tattctcggg 60 taattttctt gactttttcc aactgatttg aaatcgattg cgtacagcta gggttatggg 120 ggtatgacta gccccactct aaatggtgta ggatggtata aatcatctct caatgttact 180 tttccattgt taagaattaa eaactetegg tgatttgtcg cataeecagc tgtσaaagat 240 ccgatcatcg gcatacagaa acacccatct ggccgaactt tcctttttct gcatgcattt 300 ctgcacacag tttctgcccg ctgtttctgc ccgctgtttc tacgcata gtg get ttg 357

Met Ala Leu 1 aaa cga ccc gaa gag aaa aca gta aag ate gtg ace ata aaa cag act 405

^■ Lys Arg Pro Glu Glu Lys Thr Val Lys He Val Thr He Lys Gin Thr

5 10 15 gac aac ate aat gac gat gat ttg gtg tac age aac get act gac ctt 453

Asp Asn He Asn Asp Asp Asp Leu Val Tyr Ser Asn Ala Thr Asp Leu 20 25 30 35 cca gta ggc gtg aag aag tec cct aaa atg tea ccg ace gcc cgc gtt 501 Pro Val Gly Val Lys Lys Ser Pro Lys Met Ser Pro Thr Ala Arg Val 40 45 50 ggt etc ctt gtc ttt ggg gtt ate gcg gcg gtg ggt tgg gga gca ate 549 Gly Leu Leu Val Phe Gly Val He Ala Ala Val Gly Trp Gly Ala He 55 60 65 get ttc tec cgt ggc gaa aca ate aac tct gtg tgg ctg gtt ttg gcg 597 Ala Phe Ser Arg Gly Glu Thr He Asn Ser Val Trp Leu Val Leu Ala 70 75 80 gca gtt ggt tec tat ate att gcg ttt tct ttc tat gcc cga ctg att 645

Ala Val Gly Ser Tyr He He Ala Phe Ser Phe Tyr Ala Arg Leu He 85 90 95 gaa tac aaa gtt gtt aag ccg aaa gat cag cga gca ace ccg gcg gaa 693

Glu Tyr Lys Val Val Lys Pro Lys Asp Gin Arg Ala Thr Pro Ala Glu 100 105 110 115 tac gtt aat gac ggc aag gac tat gtc cca acg gat cgt cgt gtg ctt 741 Tyr Val Asn Asp Gly Lys Asp Tyr Val Pro Thr Asp Arg Arg Val Leu 120 125 130 ttt ggc cac cac ttt gca get att gca ggt gcc ggt cca ttg gtt gga 789 Phe Gly His His Phe Ala Ala He Ala Gly Ala Gly Pro Leu Val Gly 135 140 145 cct gtc atg gcc gcg cag atg ggc tac ctg cca ggc ace ttg tgg att 837 Pro Val Met Ala Ala Gin Met Gly Tyr Leu Pro Gly Thr Leu Trp He 150 155 160 ate etc ggt gtg att ttc gcc ggt gca gtg cag gac tac eta gtg ctg 885 He Leu Gly Val He Phe Ala Gly Ala Val Gin Asp Tyr Leu Val Leu 165 170 175 tgg gtg tct act cgt agg cgt gga cgc tea ctt ggc cag atg gtt cgt 933 Trp Val Ser Thr Arg Arg Arg Gly Arg Ser Leu Gly Gin Met Val Arg 180 185 190 195 gat gaa atg ggc acg gtc ggt gga get gcc ggt ate ttg gcg ace ate 981 Asp Glu Met Gly Thr Val Gly Gly Ala Ala Gly He Leu Ala Thr He 200 205 210 tec ate atg ate ate att ate gcg gtg etc gca ttg ate gtg gtt aat 1029

Ser He Met He He He He Ala Val Leu Ala Leu He Val Val Asn

215 220 225 gca ctg get gat tea cca tgg ggc gtt ttc tec ate ace atg ace ate 1077

Ala Leu Ala Asp Ser Pro Trp Gly Val Phe Ser He Thr Met Thr He 230 235 240 cca att gca ctg ttc atg ggt gtg tac ttg cgt tac ctg cgc cca ggt 1125 Pro He Ala Leu Phe Met Gly Val Tyr Leu Arg Tyr Leu Arg Pro Gly 245 250 255 cgt gtt act gaa gtg tec ate ate ggt gtg gca ctg etc ctg ctg get 1173 Arg Val Thr Glu Val Ser He He Gly Val Ala Leu Leu Leu Leu Ala 260 265 270 275 ate gtt get ggt ggt tgg gtt gca gac ace tea tgg ggc gtg gaa tgg 1221 He Val Ala Gly Gly Trp Val Ala Asp Thr Ser Trp Gly Val Glu Trp 280 285 290 ttc ace tgg tct aag ace act ttg gcg ttg gcc ttg ate ggt tac gga 1269 Phe Thr Trp Ser Lys Thr Thr Leu Ala Leu Ala Leu He Gly Tyr Gly 295 300 305 ate atg get gcg att ttg ccg gtg tgg ctg ctg ctt gca ccg cgc gat 1317 He Met Ala Ala He Leu Pro Val Trp Leu Leu Leu Ala Pro Arg Asp 310 315 320 tac ctg tct ace ttt atg aag ate ggc gtc ate ggt ctg ttg gca gtg 1365 Tyr Leu Ser Thr Phe Met Lys He Gly Val He Gly Leu Leu Ala Val 325 330 335 ggt att ttg ttc gca cgt ect gag gtg cag atg cct tec gtg ace tec 1413 Gly He Leu Phe Ala Arg Pro Glu Val Gin Met Pro Ser Val Thr Ser 340 345 350 355 ttc gca ctt gag ggc aac ggt ccg gtg ttc tct gga agt ctg ttc cca 1461 Phe Ala Leu Glu Gly Asn Gly Pro Val Phe Ser Gly Ser Leu Phe Pro 360 365 370 ttc ctg ttc ate acg att gcc tgt ggt gca ctg tct ggt ttc cac gca 1509 Phe Leu Phe He Thr He Ala Cys Gly Ala Leu Ser Gly Phe His Ala 375 380 385 ctg att tct tea gga ace aca cca aag ctt gtg gag aag gaa tec cag 1557

Leu He Ser Ser Gly Thr Thr Pro Lys Leu Val Glu Lys Glu Ser Gin 390 395 400 atg cgc atg etc ggc tac ggc ggc atg ttg atg gaa tct ttc gtg gcg 1605

Met Arg Met Leu Gly Tyr Gly Gly Met Leu Met Glu Ser Phe Val Ala

405 410 415 atg atg gca ctg ate ace get gtt att ctg gat cgt cac ctg tac ttc 1653 Met Met Ala Leu He Thr Ala Val He Leu Asp Arg His Leu Tyr Phe 420 425 430 435 tec atg aac get ccg ctg gca ctg act ggt gga gat cca gca ace gca 1701 Ser Met Asn Ala Pro Leu Ala Leu Thr Gly Gly Asp Pro Ala Thr Ala

440 445 450 get gag tgg gtt aac tec att ggg ctg aca ggt gcg gat ate ace ccg 1749 Ala Glu Trp Val Asn Ser He Gly Leu Thr Gly Ala Asp He Thr Pro 455 460 465 gaa cag ctg teg gaa get get gaa agt gtc gga gaa tec act gtt att 1797 Glu Gin Leu Ser Glu Ala Ala Glu Ser Val Gly Glu Ser Thr Val He 470 475 480 tec cgt ace ggt ggc gca cca ace ttg gcg ttc ggt atg tct gaa ate 1845 Ser Arg Thr Gly Gly Ala Pro Thr Leu Ala Phe Gly Met Ser Glu He 485 490 495 etc tec gga ttc ate ggc ggc get gga atg aag gcg ttc tgg tac cac 1893 Leu Ser Gly Phe He Gly Gly Ala Gly Met Lys Ala Phe Trp Tyr His 500 505 510 515 ttc gcc ate atg ttt gag get ctg ttc ate etc act act gtg gat gca 1941 Phe Ala He Met Phe Glu Ala Leu Phe He Leu Thr Thr Val Asp Ala

520 525 530 ggt act cgt gtg get cgc ttt atg atg ace gat ace ttg ggc aat gtt 1989 Gly Thr Arg Val Ala Arg Phe Met Met Thr Asp Thr Leu Gly Asn Val 535 540 545 cca ggt ctg cgc cgt ttc aag gat cct tea tgg act gtc ggt aac tgg 2037

Pro Gly Leu Arg Arg Phe Lys Asp Pro Ser Trp Thr Val Gly Asn Trp 550 555 560 att tct ace gtg ttt gtg tgt get eta tgg ggt get att ttg etc atg 2085

He Ser Thr Val Phe Val Cys Ala Leu Trp Gly Ala He Leu Leu Met 565 570 575 ggt gtt ace gat cca ctg ggc ggc ate aac gtg ctt ttc cca eta ttc 2133 Gly Val Thr Asp Pro Leu Gly Gly He Asn Val Leu Phe Pro Leu Phe 580 585 590 595 ggt ate get aac cag ctg etc gcc get att gca ctt get etc gtg ctg 2181 Gly He Ala Asn Gin Leu Leu Ala Ala He Ala Leu Ala Leu Val Leu

600 605 610 gtt gtt gtg gtg aag aag ggc ctg tac aag tgg gcg tgg att cca get 2229 Val Val Val Val Lys Lys Gly Leu Tyr Lys Trp Ala Trp He Pro Ala 615 620 625 gtt cct ttg gca tgg gat etc att gtc acg atg act gcg tea tgg cag 2277 Val Pro Leu Ala Trp Asp Leu He Val Thr Met Thr Ala Ser Trp Gin 630 - 635 640 aag att ttc cac tct gat ccg get att ggc tac tgg get cag aac gcg 2325 Lys He Phe His Ser Asp Pro Ala He Gly Tyr Trp Ala Gin Asn Ala 645 650 655 aac ttc cgc gat gca aag tct caa ggc ctt ace gaa ttt ggt gee get 2373 Asn Phe Arg Asp Ala Lys Ser Gin Gly Leu Thr Glu Phe Gly Ala Ala 660 665 670 675 aaa tct cct gag gca ate gat gcg gtt ate cga aac ace atg att cag 2421

Lys Ser Pro Glu Ala He Asp Ala Val He Arg Asn Thr Met He Gin

680 685 690 ggc ate ttg tec ate ctg ttc gcg gtg etc gtc etc gtt gtt gtc ggc 2469

Gly He Leu Ser He Leu Phe Ala Val Leu Val Leu Val Val Val Gly

695 700 705 gca gcc att gcg gtg tgc ate aag tec ate agg get cgt gca gcc gga 2517 Ala Ala He Ala Val Cys He Lys Ser He Arg Ala Arg Ala Ala Gly 710 715 720 aca cct ttg gag ace act gaa gag cct gat act gaa tct gag ttc ttc 2565 Thr Pro Leu Glu Thr Thr Glu Glu Pro Asp Thr Glu Ser Glu Phe Phe 725 730 735 gcc cca act gga ttc ctt gca tct tec agg gat aag gaa gtc cag gcc 2613 Ala Pro Thr Gly Phe Leu Ala Ser Ser Arg Asp Lys Glu Val Gin Ala 740 745 750 755 atg tgg gac gag cgc tac cca ggc ggt gcg ccc gtg tct tct gga ggg 2661 Met Trp Asp Glu Arg Tyr Pro Gly Gly Ala Pro Val Ser Ser Gly Gly 760 765 770 cac taaaacatga tggctcttac tcatgeactg tggaaaatcc cgcgggcggt 2714 His gtggtggtat ctcactgage teatggggga caeggegtat tecaagtatg tggtgcactt 2774 aaageaccac catccggatg ctccgattcc tactgagcgg gagtattggc gggeaaagta 2834 tgcagatcag gacgctaatc ctggtgcccg ctg 2867

<210> 5

<211> 772

<212> PRT

<213> Corynebacterium glutamicum

<400> 5

Met Ala Leu Lys Arg Pro Glu Glu Lys Thr Val Lys He Val Thr He 1 5 10 15 Lys Gin Thr Asp Asn He Asn Asp Asp Asp Leu Val Tyr Ser Asn Ala 20 25 30

Thr Asp Leu Pro Val Gly Val Lys Lys Ser Pro Lys Met Ser Pro Thr 35 40 45

Ala -Arg Val Gly Leu Leu Val Phe Gly Val He Ala Ala Val Gly Trp 50 55 60 Gly Ala He Ala Phe Ser Arg Gly Glu Thr He Asn Ser Val Trp Leu 65 70 75 80

Val Leu Ala Ala Val Gly Ser Tyr He He Ala Phe Ser Phe Tyr Ala 85 90 95

Arg Leu He Glu Tyr Lys Val Val Lys Pro Lys Asp Gin Arg Ala Thr 100 105 110

Pro Ala Glu Tyr Val Asn Asp Gly Lys Asp Tyr Val Pro Thr Asp Arg 115 120 125

Arg Val Leu Phe Gly His His Phe Ala Ala He Ala Gly Ala Gly Pro 130 135 140 Leu Val Gly Pro Val Met Ala Ala Gin Met Gly Tyr Leu Pro Gly Thr 145 150 155 160

Leu Trp He He Leu Gly Val He Phe Ala Gly Ala Val Gin Asp Tyr 165 170 175

Leu Val Leu Trp Val Ser Thr Arg Arg Arg Gly Arg Ser Leu Gly Gin 180 185 190

Met Val Arg Asp Glu Met Gly Thr Val Gly Gly Ala Ala Gly He Leu 195 200 205

Ala Thr He Ser He Met He He He He Ala Val Leu Ala Leu He 210 215 220 Val Val Asn Ala Leu Ala Asp Ser Pro Trp Gly Val Phe Ser He Thr 225 230 235 240

Met Thr He Pro He Ala Leu Phe Met Gly Val Tyr Leu Arg Tyr Leu 245 250 255

Arg Pro Gly Arg Val Thr Glu Val Ser He He Gly Val Ala Leu Leu 260 265 270

Leu Leu Ala He Val Ala Gly Gly Trp Val Ala Asp Thr Ser Trp Gly -275 280 285

Val Glu Trp Phe Thr Trp Ser Lys Thr Thr Leu Ala Leu Ala Leu He 290 295 300 Gly Tyr Gly He Met Ala Ala He Leu Pro Val Trp Leu Leu Leu Ala 305 310 315 320

Pro Arg Asp Tyr Leu Ser Thr Phe Met Lys He Gly Val He Gly Leu 325 330 335 Leu Ala Val Gly He Leu Phe Ala Arg Pro Glu Val Gin Met Pro Ser 340 345 350

Val Thr Ser Phe Ala Leu Glu Gly Asn Gly Pro Val Phe Ser Gly Ser 355 360 365

Leu Phe Pro Phe Leu Phe He Thr He Ala Cys Gly Ala Leu Ser Gly 370 375 380

Phe His Ala Leu He Ser Ser Gly Thr Thr Pro Lys Leu Val Glu Lys 385 390 395 400

Glu Ser Gin Met Arg Met Leu Gly Tyr Gly Gly Met Leu Met Glu Ser 405 410 415

Phe Val Ala Met Met Ala Leu He Thr Ala Val He Leu Asp Arg His 420 425 430 Leu Tyr Phe Ser Met Asn Ala Pro Leu Ala Leu Thr Gly Gly Asp Pro 435 440 445

Ala Thr Ala Ala Glu Trp Val Asn Ser He Gly Leu Thr Gly Ala Asp 450 455 460

He Thr Pro Glu Gin Leu Ser Glu Ala Ala Glu Ser Val Gly Glu Ser 465 470 475 480

Thr Val He Ser Arg Thr Gly Gly Ala Pro Thr Leu Ala Phe Gly Met 485 490 495

Ser Glu He Leu Ser Gly Phe He Gly Gly Ala Gly Met Lys Ala Phe 500 505 510 Trp Tyr His Phe Ala He Met Phe Glu Ala Leu Phe He Leu Thr Thr 515 520 525

Val Asp Ala Gly Thr Arg Val Ala Arg Phe Met Met Thr Asp Thr Leu 530 535 540

Gly Asn Val Pro Gly Leu Arg Arg Phe Lys Asp Pro Ser Trp Thr Val 545 550 555 560

Gly Asn Trp He Ser Thr Val Phe Val Cys Ala Leu Trp Gly Ala He 565 570 575

Leu Leu Met Gly Val Thr Asp Pro Leu Gly Gly He Asn Val Leu Phe 580 585 590 Pro Leu Phe Gly He Ala Asn Gin Leu Leu Ala Ala He Ala Leu Ala 595 600 605

Leu Val Leu Val Val Val Val Lys Lys Gly Leu Tyr Lys Trp Ala Trp 610 615 620

He Pro Ala Val Pro Leu Ala Trp Asp Leu He Val Thr Met Thr Ala 625 630 635 640 Ser Trp Gin Lys He Phe His Ser Asp Pro Ala He Gly Tyr Trp Ala 645 650 655

Gin Asn Ala Asn Phe ^' rg Asp Ala Lys Ser Gin Gly Leu Thr Glu Phe 660 665. 670

Gly Ala Ala Lys Ser Pro Glu Ala He Asp Ala Val He Arg Asn Thr 675 680 685 Met He Gin Gly He Leu Ser He Leu Phe Ala Val Leu Val Leu Val 690 695 700

Val Val Gly Ala Ala He Ala Val Cys He Lys Ser He Arg Ala Arg 705 710 715 720

Ala Ala Gly Thr Pro Leu Glu Thr Thr Glu Glu Pro Asp Thr Glu Ser 725 730 735

Glu Phe Phe Ala Pro Thr Gly Phe Leu Ala Ser Ser Arg Asp Lys Glu 740 745 750

Val Gin Ala Met Trp Asp Glu Arg Tyr Pro Gly Gly Ala Pro Val Ser 755 760 765 Ser Gly Gly His 770

<210> 6 <211> 20 <212> DNA <213> Corynebacterium glutamicum <220>

<223> Primer cstA-expl

<400> 6 caccctactg aacagettgg 20

<210> 7 <211> 20 <212> DNA <213> Corynebacterium glutamicum

<220>

<223> Primer cstA-exp2 <400> 7 cagtgcatga gtaagagcca 20

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. Isolated polynucleotide from coryneform bacteria, comprising a polynucleotide sequence which codes for the cstA gene, chosen from the group consisting of

c) polynucleotide which is complementary to the polynucleotides of a) or b) , and

d) polynucleotide comprising at least 15 successive nucleotides of the polynucleotide sequence of a) , b) or c) ,

the polypeptide preferably having the activity of carbon starvation protein A.

2. Polynucleotide according to claim 1, wherein the polynucleotide is a preferably recombinant DNA which is capable of replication in coryneform bacteria.

3. Polynucleotide according to claim 1, wherein the polynucleotide is an RNA.

4. Polynucleotide according to claim 2, comprising the nucleic acid sequence as shown in SEQ ID No. 1.

5. DNA as claimed in claim 2 which is capable of replication, comprising (i) the nucleotide sequence shown in SEQ ID No. 1, or

(iii) at least one sequence which hybridizes with the sequence complementary to sequence (i) or (ii) , and optionally

(iv) sense mutations of neutral function in (i) .

6. Polynucleotide sequence according to claim 2, which codes for a polypeptide which comprises the amino acid sequences shown in SEQ ID No . 2.

7. Coryneform bacteria in which the cstA gene is enhanced, in particular over-expressed.

8. Shuttle vector Escherichia coli DH5alphamcr/pEC-

Kl8mob2cstAexp deposited as DSM 13671 at the Deutsche Sammlung fur Mikroorganismen und Zellkulturen [German Collection of Microorganisms and Cell Cultures] .

9. Process for the fermentative preparation of L-amino acids, in particular L-lysine, wherein the following steps are carried out:

a) fermentation of the coryneform bacteria which produce the desired L-amino acid and in which at least the cstA gene or nucleotide sequences which code for it are enhanced, in particular over- expressed;

b) concentration of the L-amino acid in the medium or in the cells of the bacteria, and

c) isolation of the L-amino acid.

10. Process according to claim 9, wherein bacteria in which further genes of the biosynthesis pathway of the desired L-amino acid are additionally enhanced are employed.

11. Process according to claim 9, wherein bacteria in which the metabolic pathways which reduce the formation of the desired L-amino acid are at least partly eliminated are employed.

12. Process according to claim 9, wherein a strain transformed with a plasmid vector is employed, and the plasmid vector carries the nucleotide sequence which codes for the cstA gene,

13. Process according to claim 9, wherein the expression of the polynucleotide which codes for the cstA gene is enhanced, in particular over-expressed.

14. Process according to claim 9, wherein the regulatory properties of the polypeptide for which the polynucleotide cstA codes are increased.

15. Process according to claim 9, wherein for the preparation of L-amino acids, in particular L-lysine, coryneform microorganisms in which at the same time one or more of the genes chosen from the group consisting of

15.1 the lysC gene which codes for a feed back resistant aspartate kinase,

15.2 the dapA gene which codes for dihydrodipicolinate synthase,

15.3 the gap gene which codes for glycerolaldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase,

15.4 the pgk gene which codes for 3-phosphoglycerate kinase,

15.5 the pyc gene which codes for pyruvate carboxylase,

15.6 the tpi gene which codes for triose phosphate isomerase,

15.7 the lysE gene which codes for lysine export,

15.8 the zwal gene which codes for the Zwal protein,

is or are enhanced or over-expressed are fermented.

16. Process according to claim 9, wherein for the preparation of L-amino acids, in particular L-lysine, coryneform microorganisms in which at the same time one or more of the genes chosen from the group consisting of

16.1 the pck gene which codes for phosphoenol pyruvate carboxykinase,

16.2 the pgi gene which codes for glucose 6- phosphate isomerase,

16.3 the poxB gene which codes for pyruvate oxidase,

16.4 the zwa2 gene which codes for the Zwa2 protein

is or are attenuated are fermented.

17. Coryneform bacteria which contain a vector which carries a polynucleotide according to claim 1.

18. Process according to one or more of the preceding claims, wherein microorganisms of the genus Corynebacterium glutamicum are employed.

19. Process for discovering RNA, cDNA and DNA in order to isolate nucleic acids, or polynucleotides or genes which code for carbon starvation protein A or have a high similarity with the sequence of the cstA gene, wherein the polynucleotide sequences according to claim 1, 2, 3 or 4 are employed as hybridization probes.

20. Process according to claim 19, wherein the hybridization is carried out under a stringency corresponding to at most 2x SSC.

21. A process as claimed in claim 19, wherein arrays, micro arrays or DNA chips are employed.