Sequence of the S-layer gene of Thermus thermophilus HB8 and functionality of its promoter in Escherichia coli

The nucleotide sequence of the slpA gene, which is responsible for the synthesis of the S-layer protein of Thermus thermophilus HB8, is described. This gene is transcribed as a unit in which the coding region is preceded by a 127-base-long leader mRNA sequence. The promoter region is also recognized by the RNA polymerase of Escherichia coli because of the presence of homologous -35 and -10 boxes. Homologies with other promoters from Thermus spp. are also presented.