The present invention provides a method of producing optically active
amino acids from 5-substituted hydantoin by isolating a hydantoinase gene
and an N-carbamyl-L-amino acid hydrolase gene involved in an ability to
convert 5-substituted hydantoin or N-carbamylamino acid into optically
active amino acids from a microorganism of the genus Microbacterium
having the above ability and by improving gene amplification and
transcriptional and translational activities thereby preparing a
recombinant wherein the amount of the desired enzymes produced is
increased. The hydantoinase gene is, for example, a DNA encoding for a
protein having a hydantoinase activity, which has the nucleotide sequence
set forth in SEQ ID NO:1 in the Sequence. The N-carbamyl-L-amino acid
hydrolase gene is, for example, a DNA encoding for a protein having an
N-carbamyl-L-amino acid hydrolase activity, which has the nucleotide
sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:3 in the Sequence.