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Plastocyanin from the thermophilic cyanobacterium Phormidium laminosum has been purified, a partial amino acid sequence obtained and the gene cloned and sequenced. The derived amino acid sequence indicates that the plastocyanin protein is initially synthesized with an N-terminal leader sequence of 34 amino acids to direct it across the thylakoid membrane. The leader sequence consists of a positively charged N-terminal region, a hydrophobic region and a cleavage site, which are characteristic both of higher-plant chloroplast thylakoid transfer domains and of bacterial leader peptides. The petE gene and flanking regions have been cloned in Escherichia coli, and the plastocyanin protein is expressed and directed to the periplasmic space, with concomitant processing to the mature form. Targeting to the periplasm and processing of the plastocyanin protein in E. coli appears to be dependent on components of the Sec apparatus, since the unprocessed precursor accumulates in the cytoplasm of a secA mutant. Expression of plastocyanin in E. coli is copper-inducible and apparently controlled at the level of transcription, leading to the conclusion that copper-regulated promoters exist in the regions flanking the gene and are recognized in a heterologous system. Possible implications for gene expression and protein targeting in the cyanobacterium are discussed.

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