Nucleotide sequence of the amicyanin gene from Methylobacterium extorquens AM1.

The gene for amicyanin from the methylotrophic bacterium, Methylobacterium extorquens AM1 was identified. It encodes a protein consisting of 119 amino acids with a molecular weight of 12,609 kDa. The amino acid sequence shows the presence of a typical leader sequence and signal peptidase recognition site. Two putative hairpin structures were found, one located directly behind the amicyanin gene and another located 50 bp upstream. The same sequence AAAATCCC was found near the start codons for the small subunit of methylamine dehydrogenase and amicyanin, but its significance is not known.