The Escherichia coli metD Locus Encodes an ABC Transporter Which Includes Abc (MetN), YaeE (MetI), and YaeC (MetQ)

We report that the genes abc, yaeC, and yaeE comprise metD, an Escherichia coli locus encoding a dl-methionine uptake system. MetD is an ABC transporter with Abc the ATPase, YaeE the permease, and YaeC the likely substrate binding protein. Expression of these genes is regulated by l-methionine and MetJ, a common repressor of the methionine regulon. We propose to rename abc, yaeE, and yaeC as metN, metI, and metQ, respectively.