Summary
The hemA gene which encodes δ-aminolaevulinic acid synthase (ALAS), was cloned and characterized from the broad host-range Rhizobium strain NGR234. A cosmid, identified by hybridization with the cloned gene of R. meliloti and complementation of an R. meliloti hemA mutant, was subcloned to yield a 5.5 kb fragment containing the entire NGR234 gene. A physical-genetic map was made and the Ω interposon was introduced into a single EcoRI site which bisects the gene. The mutated gene was homogenotized into NGR234 to generate a hemA mutant, with a view to evaluating the role of rhizobial bacteroid ALAS activity for a wide variety of legume symbioses. The mutant strain formed an ineffective (Fix−) symbiosis with all tested host plants. These included tropical legumes that produce either indeterminate (Leucaena) or determinate (Desmodium, Macroptilium, Lablab, Vigna) root nodules.
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Abbreviations
- ALA:
-
δ-aminolaevulinic acid
- ALAS:
-
aminolaevulinic acid synthase
- Lb:
-
leghaemoglobin
- Lb-haem:
-
haem moiety of leghaemoglobin
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Stanley, J., Dowling, D.N. & Broughton, W.J. Cloning of hemA from Rhizobium sp. NGR234 and symbiotic phenotype of a gene-directed mutant in diverse legume genera. Mol Gen Genet 215, 32–37 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00331299
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00331299