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Activation of extra copies of genes coding for nitrogenase in Rhodopseudomonas capsulata

Nature volume 307, pages 289–292 (1984)Cite this article

Abstract

Biological nitrogen fixation requires the nitrogenase enzyme complex, ATP, and a strong reductant1. Klebsiella pneumoniae contains 15 linked nitrogen fixation (nif) genes2,3, three of which, nifH, nifD and nifK have been sufficiently conserved in evolution that cloned K. pneumoniae nifHDK DNA4 will hybridize to DNA sequences from every nitrogen-fixing bacterium examined to date, including the purple, non-sulphur bacterium Rhodopseudomonas capsulata5, in which one complete nifHDK operon has been mapped6. Using cloned K. pneumoniae nifHDK DNA we report here that R. capsulata contains multiple copies of the genes for nitrogenase components. Two regions containing sequences homologous to all three nif structural genes have been identified, and mutations in one region produced a Nif− phenotype. Nif+ pseudorevertants were derived from these mutants, some of which retained the original mutation suggesting that some of the extra nif gene sequences can be functionally activated.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biophysics and Theoretical Biology, The University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, 60637, USA

    Pablo A. Scolnik & Robert Haselkorn

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  1. Pablo A. Scolnik
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  2. Robert Haselkorn
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Scolnik, P., Haselkorn, R. Activation of extra copies of genes coding for nitrogenase in Rhodopseudomonas capsulata. Nature 307, 289–292 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1038/307289a0

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