Abstract
Rhizobium, a bacterium which reduces dinitrogen to ammonia in symbiotic association with leguminous plants, ‘fixes’ nitrogen while living free1–4. Unfortunately, free-living fixation seems to occur only at the end of exponential growth, and no condition is known in which bacterial growth is dependent on reduction of dinitrogen by nitrogenase (EC 1.7.99.2). Therefore a molecular biological analysis must be indirect. In the unrelated Klebsiella pneumoniae, where fixation does occur in culture, nitrogenase expression is regulated by the enzyme glutamine synthetase (GS, EC 6.3.1.2). By analogy, we have isolated GS auxotrophs in Rhizobium and screened for nitrogenase activity. We chose Rhizobium cowpea 32H1 because it has the highest reported nitrogenase activity, both in culture and in nodules5. We found that a glutamine-dependent auxotroph of Rhizobium cowpea 32H1, deficient in GS activity, is deficient in nitrogenase activity as well. Therefore GS seems to be involved in the control of nitrogenase expression by Rhizobium.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Pagan, J. B., Child, J. J., Scowcroft, W. R. & Gibson, A. H. Nature 256, 406–407 (1975).
Kurz, W. G. & LaRue, T. A. Nature 256, 407–408 (1975).
McComb, J. A., Elliot, J. & Dilworth, M. J. Nature 256, 409–410 (1975).
Tjepkema, J. & Evans, H. J. Biochem. biophys. Res. Commun. 65, 625–628 (1975).
Schubert, K. R. & Evans, H. J. Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 73, 1207–1211 (1976).
Streicher, S. L., Shanmugam, K. T., Ausubel, F., Morandi, C. & Goldberg, R. B. J. Bact 120, 815–821 (1974).
Tubb, R. S. Nature 251, 481–485 (1974).
Shapiro, B. M. & Stadtman, E. R. in Methods in Enzymology 17a, 910–922, (Academic, New York, 1970).
Bender, R. A. et al. J. Bact. (in the press).
Keister, D. L. J. Bact. 123, 1265–1268 (1975).
Dilworth, M. J. Biochim. biophys. Acta 127, 289–294 (1966).
Hardy, R. W. F., Holsten, R. D., Jackson, E. K. & Burns, R. C. Plant Physiol. 43, 1185–1207 (1968).
Kondorosi, A., Svab, Z., Kiss, G. B. & Dixon, R. A. Molec. gen. Genet, (in the press).
Brown, C. M. & Dilworth, M. J. J. gen. Microbiol. 86, 39–48 (1975).
Bergerson, F. J. & Turner, G. L. Biochim. biophys. Acta 141, 507–515 (1967).
O'Gara, F. & Shanmugam, K. T. Biochim. biophys. Acta 437, 313–321 (1976).
Thornton, H. G. Ann. Bot. 44, 385–392 (1930).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
LUDWIG, R., SIGNER, E. Glutamine synthetase and control of nitrogen fixation in Rhizobium. Nature 267, 245–248 (1977). https://doi.org/10.1038/267245a0
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/267245a0
This article is cited by
-
Proteomic analysis of free-living Bradyrhizobium diazoefficiens: highlighting potential determinants of a successful symbiosis
BMC Genomics (2014)
-
Auxotrophy in rhizobia revisited
Indian Journal of Microbiology (2007)
-
Expression and regulation of the Escherichia coli glutamate dehydrogenase gene (gdh) in Rhizobium japonicum
Archives of Microbiology (1986)
-
Impaired nitrogen fixation and glutamine synthesis in methionine sulfoximine sensitive (MSs) mutants of Rhizobium phaseoli
Molecular and General Genetics MGG (1985)
-
Directed transposon Tn5 mutagenesis and complementation in slow-growing, broad host range cowpea Rhizobium
Molecular and General Genetics MGG (1984)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.
