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. 1990 Oct;172(10):5563–5574. doi: 10.1128/jb.172.10.5563-5574.1990

Sequence and analysis of the rpoN sigma factor gene of rhizobium sp. strain NGR234, a primary coregulator of symbiosis.

J C van Slooten 1, E Cervantes 1, W J Broughton 1, C H Wong 1, J Stanley 1
PMCID: PMC526867  PMID: 2211497

Abstract

We report the nucleotide sequence of the rpoN gene from broad-host-range Rhizobium sp. strain NGR234 and analyze the encoded RPON protein, a sigma factor. Comparative analysis of the deduced amino acid sequence of RPON from NGR234 with sequences from other gram-negative bacteria identified a perfectly conserved RPON box unique to RPON sigma factors. Symbiotic regulatory phenotypes were defined for a site-directed internal deletion within the coding sequence of the rpoN gene of Rhizobium strain NGR234: they included quantitative nodulation kinetics on Vigna unguiculata and microscopic analysis of the Fix- determinate nodules of V. unguiculata and Macroptilium atropurpureum. RPON was a primary coregulator of nodulation and was implicated in establishment or maintenance of the plant-synthesized peribacteroid membrane. Phenotypes of rpoN in Rhizobium strain NGR234 could be grouped as symbiosis related, rather than simply pleiotropically physiological as in free-living bacteria such as Klebsiella pneumoniae and Pseudomonas putida.

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Selected References

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