The alpha-galactosidase gene of Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2) was cloned, expressed in Escherichia coli and characterized. It consisted of 1497 nucleotides encoding a protein of 499 amino acids with a predicted molecular weight of 57,385. The observed homology between the deduced amino acid sequences of the enzyme and alpha-galactosidase from Thermus thermophilus was over 40%. The alpha-galactosidase gene was assigned to family 36 of the glycosyl hydrolases. The enzyme purified from recombinant E. coli showed optimal activity at 40 degrees C and pH 7. The enzyme hydrolyzed p-nitrophenyl-alpha-D-galactopyroside, raffinose, stachyose but not melibiose and galactomanno-oligosaccharides, indicating that this enzyme recognizes not only the galactose moiety but also other substrates.