The thrC gene of Brevibacterium lactofermentum was cloned by complementation of Escherichia coli thrC auxotrophs. The gene was located by deletion mapping and complementation analysis in a 2.9-kb Sau3AI-HindIII fragment of the genome. This fragment also complemented a B. lactofermentum UL1035 threonine auxotroph that was deficient in threonine synthase. A 1,892-bp DNA fragment of this region was sequenced; this fragment contained a 1,446-bp open reading frame that encoded a 481-amino-acid protein having a deduced M(r) of 52,807. The gene was expressed in E. coli, by using the phage T7 system, as a 53-kDa protein. The promoter region subcloned in promoter-probe plasmids was functional in E. coli. A Northern analysis revealed that the gene was expressed as a monocistronic 1,400-nucleotide transcript. The transcription start point of the thrC gene was located by S1 mapping 6 bp upstream from the translation initiation codon, which indicated that this promoter was one of the leaderless transcription-initiating sequences. The threonine synthase overexpressed in B. lactofermentum UL1035 was purified almost to homogeneity. The active form corresponded to a monomeric 52.8-kDa protein, as shown by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The purified enzyme required pyridoxal phosphate as its only cofactor to convert homoserine phosphate into threonine.