Construction of S. meliloti 1021 derivative mutants affected in the putative K+ uptake system Trk (A), Kup1 (B), Kup2 (C,) or Kdp (D). The wild-type version of the amplified region obtained by PCR is represented, and the mutated version is shown next. E, EcoRI; Sp, SphI; S, SmaI; EV, EcoRV; K, KpnI; B, BamHI; X, XbaI; H, HindIII. GmR, gentamicin resistance cassette; KmR, kanamycin resistance cassette; SmR/SpcR, streptomycin/spectinomycin resistance cassette.