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1887

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Volume 146, Issue 11

The bv. gene, encoding a uridylyltransferase/uridylyl-removing enzyme, is expressed in the root nodule but is not essential for nitrogen fixation Free

Abstract

The GenBank accession number for the sequence reported in this paper is AF155830.

A bv. VF39 gene () encoding the uridylyltransferase/uridylyl-removing enzyme, which constitutes the sensory component of the nitrogen regulation () system, was identified, cloned and characterized. The deduced amino acid sequence contains the conserved active site motif of the nucleotidyltransferase superfamily and is highly homologous to the gene products of other bacterial species. Downstream of the VF39 resides an open reading frame with similarity to the virulence factor gene . Mutation of the gene abolished the ability to use nitrate as a sole nitrogen source but not glutamine. In addition, neither uridylylation of P nor induction of the -regulated gene (encoding glutamine synthetase II) under ammonium deficiency could be observed in mutant strains. This strongly suggests that mutants harbour a permanently deuridylylated P protein and as a consequence are unable to activate transcription from NtrC-dependent promoters. The gene itself is expressed constitutively, irrespective of the nitrogen content of the medium. A functional GlnD protein is not essential for nitrogen fixation in bv. , but detection of expression in the symbiotic and infection zone of the root nodule and quantitative measurements suggest that at least part of the system functions in symbiosis. The results also indicate that the N-terminal part of GlnD is essential for the cell, as deletions in the 5′-region of the gene appear to be lethal and mutations possibly affecting the expression of the first half of the protein have a significant effect on the vitality of the mutant strain.

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Keyword(s): glutamine synthetase , GS, glutamine synthetase , mviN , nitrogen regulation and uridylyltransferase, PII uridylylation
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2000-11-01
2025-02-08
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/content/journal/micro/10.1099/00221287-146-11-2987
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The Rhizobium leguminosarum bv. viciae glnD gene, encoding a uridylyltransferase/uridylyl-removing enzyme, is expressed in the root nodule but is not essential for nitrogen fixation
Microbiology 146, 2987 (2000); https://doi.org/10.1099/00221287-146-11-2987
/content/journal/micro/10.1099/00221287-146-11-2987
/content/journal/micro/10.1099/00221287-146-11-2987
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