Recombination protein A gene,recA, fromSpirulina platensis IAM-M135

We report the cloning and sequencing of therecA gene fromSpirulina platensis. A genomic library ofSpirulina was constructed in pUC19 and screened by PCR using oligonucleotides corresponding to the conserved amino acid sequences ofAnabaena variabilis andSynechococcus RecA proteins. TheSpirulina recA gene consists of an open reading frame (ORF) of 1095 nucleotides encoding a protein (365 residues) which shares an identity of 79%, 70% and 57% with the RecA proteins ofAnabaena variabilis, Synechococcus andEscherichia coli respectively. TherecA gene is located close to one end of the clonedBglII fragment and has only 53 bp of 5 nucleotides. The isolation of this gene has implications for the development of gene transfer system(s) forSpirulina.