Sending plasmid DNA by mail.
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DNA, Recombinant↗
Biomedical subjects
M W Mortimer
Publications and source records attributed to M W Mortimer.
New substrates for the dicarboxylate transport system of Sinorhizobium meliloti.
The dicarboxylate transport (Dct) system of Sinorhizobium meliloti, which is essential for a functional nitrogen-fixing symbiosis, has been thought to transport only dicarboxylic acids. We show here that the permease component of the Dct system, DctA, can transport orotate, a monocarboxylic acid, with an apparent K(m) of 1.7 mM and a V(max) of 163 nmol min(-1) per mg of protein in induced cells. DctA was not induced by the presence of orotate. The transport of orotate was inhibited by several compounds, including succinamic acid and succinamide, which are not dicarboxylic acids. The dicarboxylic acid maleate (cis-butenedioic acid) was not an inhibitor of orotate transport, which suggests that it was not recognized by DctA. However, maleate was an excellent inducer of DctA expression. Our evaluation of 17 compounds as inducers and inhibitors of transport suggests that substrates recognized by S. meliloti DctA must have appropriately spaced carbonyl groups and an extended conformation, while good inducers are more likely to have a curved conformation.
Bacterial Proteins↗
Citrate synthase mutants of Sinorhizobium meliloti are ineffective and have altered cell surface polysaccharides.
The gltA gene, encoding Sinorhizobium meliloti 104A14 citrate synthase, was isolated by complementing an Escherichia coli gltA mutant. The S. meliloti gltA gene was mutated by inserting a kanamycin resistance gene and then using homologous recombination to replace the wild-type gltA with the gltA::kan allele. The resulting strain, CSDX1, was a glutamate auxotroph, and enzyme assays confirmed the absence of a requirement for glutamate. CSDX1 did not grow on succinate, malate, aspartate, pyruvate, or glucose. CSDX1 produced an unusual blue fluorescence on medium containing Calcofluor, which is different from the green fluorescence found with 104A14. High concentrations of arabinose (0.4%) or succinate (0. 2%) restored the green fluorescence to CSDX1. High-performance liquid chromatography analyses showed that CSDX1 produced partially succinylated succinoglycan. CSDX1 was able to form nodules on alfalfa, but these nodules were not able to fix nitrogen. The symbiotic defect of a citrate synthase mutant could thus be due to disruption of the infection process or to the lack of energy generated by the tricarboxylic acid cycle.
Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid↗
Cloning, sequencing, and analysis of a gene cluster from Chelatobacter heintzii ATCC 29600 encoding nitrilotriacetate monooxygenase and NADH:flavin mononucleotide oxidoreductase.
Nitrilotriacetate (NTA) is an important chelating agent in detergents and has also been used extensively in processing radionuclides. In Chelatobacter heintzii ATCC 29600, biodegradation of NTA is initiated by NTA monooxygenase that oxidizes NTA to iminodiacetate and glyoxylate. The NTA monooxygenase activity requires two component proteins, component A and component B, but the function of each component is unclear. We have cloned and sequenced a gene cluster encoding components A and B (nmoA and nmoB) and two additional open reading frames, nmoR and nmoT, downstream of nmoA. Based on sequence similarities, nmoR and nmoT probably encode a regulatory protein and a transposase, respectively. The NmoA sequence was similar to a monooxygenase that uses reduced flavin mononucleotide (FMNH2) as reductant; NmoB was similar to an NADH:flavin mononucleotide (FMN) oxidoreductase. On the basis of this information, we tested the function of each component. Purified component B was shown to be an NADH:FMN oxidoreductase, and its activity could be separated from that of component A. When the Photobacterium fischeri NADH:FMN oxidoreductase was substituted for component B in the complete reaction, NTA was oxidized, showing that the substrate specificity of the reaction resides in component A. Component A is therefore an NTA monooxygenase that uses FMNH2 and O2 to oxidize NTA, and component B is an NADH:FMN oxidoreductase that provides FMNH2 for NTA oxidation.
Amino Acid Sequence↗