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Volume 140, Issue 8

Autoregulation of nitrogenase expression in Free

Abstract

An investigation into the influence of N on the expression of nitrogenase has led to a reassessment of the role of the nitrogenase MoFe protein in autoregulation. Anaerobic derepression of nitrogenase (CH-reducing) activity, of NifD and K polypeptides, and of expression, following the removal of excess NH , were greater under N than Ar. This enhancement occurred in Nif but not in Nif strains, and in Nif strains was prevented by CH, an inhibitor of N fixation. Thus N fixation is important for maintaining derepression. Derepression of under Ar in various Nif and Nif strains (including NifH, NifD, NifB and NifL mutants) and of wild-type under N or Ar in a Nif strain were measured to investigate the regulation. The mechanism regulating the enhancement under N neither involved the MoFe protein of nitrogenase, as proposed by Dixon . (1980, 286, 128-132), nor the product, but was probably due to a general upgrading of the N status. Moreover, during batch growth limited by a non-repressing fixed N source, the levels of expression in the Nif and Nif strains suggested that the gene product (or Fe protein) may have a positive autoregulatory function.

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Keyword(s): anaerobic derepression , autoregulation , Klebsiella pneumoniae , nifH-lac expression and nitrogenase
© Society for General Microbiology, 1994
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1994-08-01
2024-04-25
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Autoregulation of nitrogenase expression in Klebsiella pneumoniae
Microbiology 140, 1917 (1994); https://doi.org/10.1099/13500872-140-8-1917
/content/journal/micro/10.1099/13500872-140-8-1917
/content/journal/micro/10.1099/13500872-140-8-1917
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