Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Journal of Bacteriology logoLink to Journal of Bacteriology
. 1974 Jul;119(1):266–269. doi: 10.1128/jb.119.1.266-269.1974

Regulation of Nitrogenase Synthesis by Oxygen in Klebsiella pneumoniae

Richard T St John 1, Vinod K Shah 1, Winston J Brill 1
PMCID: PMC245598  PMID: 4600701

Abstract

Klebsiella pneumoniae does not fix N2 under aerobic conditions. The two protein components required for nitrogenase activity were studied during aeration of cells in nitrogen-free media. Component II of nitrogenase was inactivated more slowly in vivo than component I during aeration. The rate of loss of component II was less than the rate of component II synthesis during derepression. No inactive components were detected in cells that had been growing on NH4+ and then aerated in nitrogen-free medium. This supports the hypothesis that O2 somehow represses the formation of nitrogenase.

Full text

PDF
266

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Brill W. J., Steiner A. L., Shah V. K. Effect of molybdenum starvation and tungsten on the synthesis of nitrogenase components in Klebsiella pneumonia. J Bacteriol. 1974 Jun;118(3):986–989. doi: 10.1128/jb.118.3.986-989.1974. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Dalton H., Postgate J. R. Effect of oxygen on growth of Azotobacter chroococcum in batch and continuous cultures. J Gen Microbiol. 1968 Dec;54(3):463–473. doi: 10.1099/00221287-54-3-463. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Davis L. C., Shah V. K., Brill W. J., Orme-Johnson W. H. Nitrogenase. II. Changes in the EPR signal of component I (iron-molybdenum protein) of Azotobacter vinelandii nitrogenase during repression and derepression. Biochim Biophys Acta. 1972 Feb 28;256(2):512–523. doi: 10.1016/0005-2728(72)90079-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Eady R. R., Smith B. E., Cook K. A., Postgate J. R. Nitrogenase of Klebsiella pneumoniae. Purification and properties of the component proteins. Biochem J. 1972 Jul;128(3):655–675. doi: 10.1042/bj1280655. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Gasper E., Heimsch R. C., Anderson A. W. Quantitative detection of type A staphylococcal enterotoxin by Laurell electroimmunodiffusion. Appl Microbiol. 1973 Mar;25(3):421–426. doi: 10.1128/am.25.3.421-426.1973. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Gordon J. K., Brill W. J. Mutants that produce nitrogenase in the presence of ammonia. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1972 Dec;69(12):3501–3503. doi: 10.1073/pnas.69.12.3501. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Klucas R. Nitrogen fixation by Klebsiella grown in the presence of oxygen. Can J Microbiol. 1972 Dec;18(12):1845–1850. doi: 10.1139/m72-288. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Laurell C. B. Quantitative estimation of proteins by electrophoresis in agarose gel containing antibodies. Anal Biochem. 1966 Apr;15(1):45–52. doi: 10.1016/0003-2697(66)90246-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Mahl M. C., Wilson P. W. Nitrogen fixation by cell-free extracts of Klebsiella penumoniae. Can J Microbiol. 1968 Jan;14(1):33–38. doi: 10.1139/m68-006. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. PENGRA R. M., WILSON P. W. Physiology of nitrogen fixation by Aerobacter aerogenes. J Bacteriol. 1958 Jan;75(1):21–25. doi: 10.1128/jb.75.1.21-25.1958. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Parejko R. A., Wilson P. W. Regulation of nitrogenase synthesis by Klebsiella pneumoniae. Can J Microbiol. 1970 Aug;16(8):681–685. doi: 10.1139/m70-117. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Prouty W. F., Goldberg A. L. Effects of protease inhibitors on protein breakdown in Escherichia coli. J Biol Chem. 1972 May 25;247(10):3341–3352. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Shah V. K., Davis L. C., Brill W. J. Nitrogenase. I. Repression and derepression of the iron-molybdenum and iron proteins of nitrogenase in Azotobacter vinelandii. Biochim Biophys Acta. 1972 Feb 28;256(2):498–511. doi: 10.1016/0005-2728(72)90078-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Shah V. K., Pate J. L., Brill W. J. Protection of nitrogenase in Azotobacter vinelandii. J Bacteriol. 1973 Jul;115(1):15–17. doi: 10.1128/jb.115.1.15-17.1973. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Stewart W. D., Fitzgerald G. P., Burris R. H. In situ studies on N2 fixation using the acetylene reduction technique. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1967 Nov;58(5):2071–2078. doi: 10.1073/pnas.58.5.2071. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Tubb R. S., Postgate J. R. Control of nitrogenase synthesis in Klebsiella pneumoniae. J Gen Microbiol. 1973 Nov;79(1):103–117. doi: 10.1099/00221287-79-1-103. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Yoch D. C., Pengra R. M. Effect of amino acids on the nitrogenase system of Klebsiella pneumoniae. J Bacteriol. 1966 Sep;92(3):618–622. doi: 10.1128/jb.92.3.618-622.1966. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Journal of Bacteriology are provided here courtesy of American Society for Microbiology (ASM)

RESOURCES