Abstract
Screening Rhizobium meliloti strain 104A14 transposon mutants for constitutive expression of phosphatases resulted in the isolation of a mutant exhibiting increased acid phosphatase activity during growth on media containing high phosphorous. The transposon and flanking DNA were cloned in pBluescript and DNA adjacent to the insertion site was sequenced. The inferred peptide sequence of the interrupted gene had high homology with Lon protease from a number of organisms. Unlike Lon mutants in Eschenichia coli, the R. meliloti mutant showed no increase in UV sensitivity. The ion mutant formed pseudonodules on alfalfa plants. These pseudonodules fixed little nitrogen and contained few bacteroids relative to the wild type strain, indicating some aspect of infection is negatively affected in this mutant. A cosmid subclone containing the wild-type Ion allele restored normal symbiotic function.
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Summers, M.L., McDermott, T.R. (1999). Rhizobium Meliloti Lon Protease Plays an Essential Role in the Alfalfa Symbiosis. In: Martĺnez, E., Hernández, G. (eds) Highlights of Nitrogen Fixation Research. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-4795-2_11
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-4795-2_11
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