Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Letter
  • Published:

Upstream activator sequences are present in the promoters of nitrogen fixation genes

Nature volume 320, pages 374–378 (1986)Cite this article

Abstract

Nitrogen fixation (nif) genes in Klebsiella pneumoniae are controlled by a transcriptional activation mechanism which requires the ntrA gene product acting concert with either the ntrC or nifA products (reviewed in ref. 1). The nif promoters lack the canonical −35, −10 promoter elements and instead their activation requires nucleotide sequences located around −24 and −12 (refs 2–4). We have now identified and characterized a further essential promoter sequence in the K. pneumoniae nifH, nifU, nifB and ORF promoters, located more than 100 base pairs (bp) from the transcription start site. This promoter element is required for nifA- but not ntrC-mediated activation and for the inhibition of chromosomal nif expression observed when cells harbour multiple copies of certain nif promoters5. The upstream sequence is conserved among 10 Rhizobium and 2 Azotobacter nif promoters. We show that the positioning and orientation of the upstream sequence is not critical for promoter activity up to a distance of 2 kilobases (kb) and that the upstream sequence is itself transcriptionally inactive, probably acting in cis with the downstream sequences to produce a fully active promoter. Thus, an extended promoter structure is required for nif gene expression.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Dixon, R. A. J. gen. Microbiol. 130, 2745–2755 (1984).

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Brown, S. E. & Ausubel, F. M. J. Bact. 157, 143–147 (1984).

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Ow, D. W., Xiong, Y., Gu, Q. & Shen, S.-C. J. Bact. 161, 868–874 (1985).

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Buck, M., Khan, H. & Dixon, R. Nucleic Acids Res. 13, 7621–7638 (1985).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Buchanan-Wollaston, V., Cannon, M. C. & Cannon, F. C. Molec. gen. Genet. 184, 102–106 (1981).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Travers, A. A., Lamond, A. I., Mace, H. A. F. & Berman, M. L. Cell 35, 265–273 (1983).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Gicquel-Sanzey, B. & Cossart, P. EMBO J. 1, 591–595 (1983).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Drummond, M., Whitty, P. & Wootton, J. EMBO J. 5, 441–447 (1986).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Riedel, G. E., Brown, S. E. & Ausubel, F. M. J. Bact. 153, 45–56 (1983).

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Drummond, M., Clements, J., Merrick, M. & Dixon, R. Nature 301, 302–307 (1983).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Raibaud, O. & Schwartz, M. A. Rev. Genet. 18, 173–206 (1984).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Dunn, T. M., Hahn, S., Ogden, S. & Schlief, R. F. Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 81, 5017–5020 (1984).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Majumdar, A. & Adhya, S. Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 81, 6100–6104 (1984).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Better, M., Ditta, G. & Helinski, D. EMBO J. 4, 2419–2424 (1985).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Dynan, W. S. & Tjian, R. Nature 316, 774–778 (1985).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Scott, K. F., Rolfe, B. G. & Shine, J. J. molec. appl. Genet. 1, 71–81 (1981).

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Sundaresan, V., Jones, J. D. G., Ow, D. W. & Ausubel, F. M. Nature 301, 727–732 (1983).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  18. Scott, K. F., Rolfe, B. G. & Shine, J. DNA 2, 149–155 (1983).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. Scott, K. F., Rolfe, B. G. & Shine, J. DNA 2, 141–148 (1983).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. Weinman, J. J., Fellows, F. F., Gresshoff, P. M., Shine, J. & Scott, K. F. Nucleic Acids Res. 12, 8329–8344 (1984).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. Quinto, C. et al Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 82, 1170–1174 (1985).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. Fuhrmann, M. & Hennecke, H. J. Bact. 158, 1005–1011 (1984).

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  23. Kaluza, K. & Hennecke, H. Molec. gen. Genet. 196, 35–42 (1984).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  24. Yum, A. C. & Szalay, A. Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. 81, 7358–7362 (1984).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  25. Better, M., Lewis, B., Corbin, D., Ditta, G. & Helinski, D. R. Cell 35, 479–485 (1983).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  26. Brigle, K. E., Newton, W. E. & Dean, D. R. Gene 37, 37–44 (1985).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  27. Dean, D. R. & Brigle, K.-E. Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 82, 5720–5723 (1985).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  28. Schofield, P. R. & Watson, J. M. Nucleic Acids Res. 13, 3407–3418 (1985).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  29. Hawley, D. K. & McClure, W. R. Nucleic Acids Res. 11, 2237–2255 (1983).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  30. Casadaban, M. J., Chou, J. & Cohen, S. N. J. Bact., 143, 971–980 (1980).

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  31. Prentki, P. & Krisch, H. M. Gene 29, 303–313 (1984).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. AFRC Unit of Nitrogen Fixation, University of Sussex, Brighton, BN1 9RQ, UK

    Martin Buck, Stephen Miller, Martin Drummond & Ray Dixon

Authors
  1. Martin Buck
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Stephen Miller
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Martin Drummond
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Ray Dixon
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Buck, M., Miller, S., Drummond, M. et al. Upstream activator sequences are present in the promoters of nitrogen fixation genes. Nature 320, 374–378 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1038/320374a0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/320374a0

This article is cited by

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.

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing