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. In a preferred embodiment, the invention provides methods to increase the production of L-lysine in Corynebacterium glutamicum by way of the amplification of L-lysine biosynthetic pathway genes in a host cell chromosome. The invention also provides novel processes for the production of an amino acid by way of the amplification of amino acid biosynthetic pathway genes in a host cell chromosome and/or by increasing promoter strength. In a preferred embodiment, the invention provides processes to increase the production of L-lysine in Corynebacterium glutamicum by way of the amplification of L-lysine biosynthetic pathway genes in a host cell chromosome. The invention also provides novel isolated nucleic acid molecules for L-lysine biosynthetic pathway genes of Corynebacterium glutamicum such as a naturally occurring, feedback-sensitive form of aspartokinase (ask) resulting from a threonine to isoleucine mutation at amino acid residue 380 in the ask gene of ATCC 21529, aspartate-semialdehyde dehydrogenase (asd), dihydrodipicolinate synthase (dapA), dihydrodipicolinate reductase (dapB), diaminopimelate dehydrogenase (ddh), and diaminopimelate decarboxylase (lysA).