The gene encoding alginate lyase was isolated from a library constructed with the vector, pUC19, and expressed in Escherichia coli. The nucleotide sequence of the cloned alginate lyase gene (ALY) from Pseudomonas sp. W7 was determined. The nucleotide sequence revealed a 1,035 bp open reading frame (ORF), encoding 345 amino acid residues with a calculated molecular mass of 37,478 Da. The N-terminal amino acid sequences (15 residues) of purified alginate lyase corresponded to that of the deduced amino acid sequence.