The structural gene hap for the extracellular hemagglutinin/protease (HA/protease) of Vibrio cholerae was cloned and sequenced. The cloned DNA fragment contained a 1,827-bp open reading frame potentially encoding a 609-amino-acid polypeptide. The deduced protein contains a putative signal sequence followed by a large propeptide. The extracellular HA/protease consists of 414 amino acids with a computed molecular weight of 46,700. In the absence of protease inhibitors, this is processed to the 32-kDa form which is usually isolated. The deduced amino acid sequence of the mature HA/protease showed 61.5% identity with the Pseudomonas aeruginosa elastase. The cloned hap gene was inactivated and introduced into the chromosome of V. cholerae by recombination to construct the HA/protease-negative strain HAP-1. The cloned fragment containing the hap gene was then shown to complement the mutant strain.