1887

Abstract

Summary: One-step mutants of sp. strain 32h1 resistant to d-cycloserine showed substantial (≥ 90%) loss of asymbiotic (agar culture) nitrogenase activity but only partial (25 to 50%) loss of symbiotic (root nodule) nitrogenase activity. Two- and three-step resistant mutants showed a further decline or complete loss of both forms of nitrogenase activity. Since -cycloserine inhibited the uptake of alanine by the parent strain and since the mutants possessed a defective transport system for alanine, it is suggested that the mutants are unable to concentrate -cycloserine. Agar cultures of a one-step resistant mutant contained the three morphological types of Rhizobium present in the parent culture. In contrast, only one morphological type of Rhizobium was found in cultures of two- and three-step resistant mutants. Root nodules formed by a one-step resistant mutant on cowpea contained fewer bacteroid-filled plant cells than were present in nodules formed by the parent strain. Root nodules formed by two- and three-step resistant mutants contained only a small number of infected plant cells and in many of these rhizobia had not been released from infection threads. It is suggested that changes in the permeability of the Rhizobium cell wall, resulting in resistance to -cycloserine, are responsible for the morphological changes and loss of nitrogenase activity in these mutants.

Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journal/micro/10.1099/00221287-110-1-177
1979-01-01
2024-04-25
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

/deliver/fulltext/micro/110/1/mic-110-1-177.html?itemId=/content/journal/micro/10.1099/00221287-110-1-177&mimeType=html&fmt=ahah

References

  1. Benveniste R., Davies J. 1973; Mechanisms of antibiotic resistance in bacteria.. Annual Review of Biochemistry 42:471–506
    [Google Scholar]
  2. Bergersen F. J. 1974; Formation and function of bacteroids. In The Biology of Nitrogen Fixation pp. 474–495 Edited by Quispel A. Amsterdam: North-Holland Publishing Co;
    [Google Scholar]
  3. Brussel A. A. N., van, PlanquÉ K., Quispel A. 1977; The wall of Rhizobium leguminosarum in bacteroid and free-living forms.. Journal of General Microbiology 101:51–56
    [Google Scholar]
  4. Craig A. S., Williamson K. I. 1973; Three inclu-sions of rhizobia bacteroids and their cytochemical character.. Archiv für Mikrobiologie 87:165–171
    [Google Scholar]
  5. Curtiss R., Charamella L. J., Berg C. M., Harris P. E. 1965; Kinetic and genetic analyses of d-cycloserine inhibition and resistance in Escherichia coli. Journal of Bacteriology 90:1238–1250
    [Google Scholar]
  6. Dudman W. F. 1971; Antigenic analysis of Rhizobium japonicum by immunodiffusion.. Applied Microbiology 21:973–985
    [Google Scholar]
  7. Hardy R. W. F., Holsten R. D., Jackson E. K., Burns R. C. 1968; The acetylene–ethylene assay for N2 fixation: laboratory and field evaluation.. Plant Physiology 43:1185–1207
    [Google Scholar]
  8. Keister D. L. 1975; Acetylene reduction by pure cultures of rhizobia.. Journal of Bacteriology 123:1265–1268
    [Google Scholar]
  9. Kurz W. G. W., La Rue T. A. 1975; Nitrogenase activity in rhizobia in absence of plant host.. Nature, London 256:407–408
    [Google Scholar]
  10. Mackenzie C. R., Jordan D. C. 1970; Cell wall phospholipid and viomycin resistance in Rhizobium meliloti. Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications 40:1008–1012
    [Google Scholar]
  11. Maier R. J., Brill W. J. 1976; Ineffective and non-nodulating mutant strains of Rhizobium japonicum. Journal of Bacteriology 127:763–769
    [Google Scholar]
  12. McComb J. A., Elliott J., Dilworth M. J. 1975; Acetylene reduction by Rhizobium in pure culture.. Nature, London 256:409–410
    [Google Scholar]
  13. Pagan J. D., Child J. J., Scowcroft W. R., Gibson A. H. 1975; Nitrogen fixation by Rhizobium cultured on a defined medium.. Nature, London 256:406–407
    [Google Scholar]
  14. Pagan J. D., Scowcroft W. R., Dudman W. F., Gibson A. H. 1977; Nitrogen fixation in nitrate reductase-deficient mutants of cultured rhizobia.. Journal of Bacteriology 129:718–723
    [Google Scholar]
  15. Pankhurst C. E. 1977; Symbiotic effectiveness of antibiotic-resistant mutants of fast- and slow- growing strains of Rhizobium nodulating Lotus species.. Canadian Journal of Microbiology 23:1026–1033
    [Google Scholar]
  16. Pankhurst C. E., Craig A. S. 1978; Effect of oxygen concentration, temperature and combined nitrogen on the morphology and nitrogenase activity of Rhizobium sp. strain 32h1 in agar culture.. Journal of General Microbiology 106:207–219
    [Google Scholar]
  17. Patterson M. S., Greene R. G. 1965; Measurement of low energy beta-emitters in aqueous solution by liquid scintillation counting of emulsions.. Analytical Chemistry 37:854–857
    [Google Scholar]
  18. Reitz R. H., Slade H. D., Neuhaus F. C. 1967; The biochemical mechanisms of resistance by streptococci to the antibiotics d-cycloserine and O-carbamyl-d-serine.. Biochemistry 6:2561–2570
    [Google Scholar]
  19. Schwinghamer E. A. 1967; Effectiveness of Rhizobium as modified by mutation for resistance to antibiotics.. Antonie van Leeuwenhoek 33:121–136
    [Google Scholar]
  20. Wargel R. J., Shadur C. A., Neuhaus F. C. 1971; Mechanism of d-cycloserine action: transport mutants for d-alanine, d-cycloserine, and glycine.. Journal of Bacteriology 105:1028–1035
    [Google Scholar]
http://instance.metastore.ingenta.com/content/journal/micro/10.1099/00221287-110-1-177
Loading
/content/journal/micro/10.1099/00221287-110-1-177
Loading

Data & Media loading...

This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was a Success
Invalid data
An Error Occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error