The invention provides methods to increase the production of an amino acid from Corynebacterium species by way of the amplification of amino acid biosynthetic pathway genes in a host cell chromosome. Amplification may be by integration of one or more copies of a gene or genes into a host cell chromosome. One gene that may be incorporated is the gene ORF2, which encodes an unnamed hypothetical protein and which may be obtained from Corynebacterium glutamicum. The invention also provides novel isolated nucleic acid molecules for L-lysine biosynthetic pathway genes of Corynebacterium glutamicum.