Escherichia coli mutants conditionally defective in the conversion of pantothenate to coenzyme A were isolated and characterized. The gene was designated coaA and localized between argEH and rpoB near min 90 of the chromosome. The coaA15(Ts) mutation caused a temperature-sensitive growth phenotype and temperature-dependent inactivation of pantothenate kinase activity assayed both in vivo and in vitro. At 30 degrees C, coaA15(Ts) extracts contained less than 20% of the wild-type pantothenate kinase activity; the kinase had near normal kinetic constants for the substrates ATP and pantothenate and was inhibited by coenzyme A to the same degree as the wild-type enzyme. These data define the coaA gene as the structural gene for pantothenate kinase.