Rhizobium meliloti 1021 has three differentially regulated loci involved in glutamine biosynthesis, none of which is essential for symbiotic nitrogen fixation.

We have cloned and characterized three distinct Rhizobium meliloti loci involved in glutamine biosynthesis (glnA, glnII, and glnT). The glnA locus shares DNA homology with the glnA gene of Klebsiella pneumoniae, encodes a 55,000-dalton monomer subunit of the heat-stable glutamine synthetase (GS) protein (GSI), and complemented an Escherichia coli glnA mutation. The glnII locus shares DNA homology with the glnII gene of Bradyrhizobium japonicum and encodes a 36,000-dalton monomer subunit of the heat-labile GS protein (GSII). The glnT locus shares no DNA homology with either the glnA or glnII gene and complemented a glnA E. coli strain. The glnT locus codes for an operon encoding polypeptides of 57,000, 48,000, 35,000, 29,000, and 28,000 daltons. glnA and glnII insertion mutants were glutamine prototrophs, lacked the respective GS form (GSI or GSII), grew normally on different nitrogen sources (Asm+), and induced normal, nitrogen-fixing nodules on Medicago sativa plants (Nod+ Fix+). A glnA glnII double mutant was a glutamine auxotroph (Gln-), lacked both GSI and GSII forms, but nevertheless induced normal Fix+ nodules. glnT insertion mutants were prototrophs, contained both GSI and GSII forms, grew normally on different N sources, and induced normal Fix+ nodules. glnII and glnT, but not glnA, expression in R. meliloti was regulated by the nitrogen-regulatory genes ntrA and ntrC and was repressed by rich N sources such as ammonium and glutamine.     

Cloning of the glutamine synthetase I gene from Rhizobium meliloti.

Glutamine synthetase is a major enzyme in the assimilation of ammonia by members of the genus Rhizobium. Two forms of glutamine synthetase are found in members of the genus Rhizobium, a heat-stable glutamine synthetase I (GSI) and a heat-labile GSII. As a step toward clarifying the role of these enzymes in symbiotic nitrogen fixation, we have cloned the structural gene for GSI from Rhizobium meliloti 104A14. A gene bank of R. meliloti was constructed by using the bacteriophage P4 cosmid pMK318. Cosmids that contain the structural gene for GSI were isolated by selecting for plasmids that permit ET8051, an Escherichia coli glutamine autotroph, to grow with ammonia as the sole nitrogen source. One of the cosmids, pJS36, contains an insert of 11.9 kilobases. ET8051(pJS36) grows slowly on minimal media. When a 3.7-kilobase HindIII fragment derived from this DNA is cloned into the HindIII site of pACYC177 and the plasmids are transformed into ET8051, rapid growth is observed when the insert is in one orientation (pJS44) but not the other (pJS45). Glutamine synthetase activity can be detected in ET8051(pJS44); most of this activity is heat stable. pJS36 hybridizes with the glnA structural gene from Escherichia coli. Insertion of a 2.7-kilobase Tetr determinant into a BglII site located within pJS44 abolishes all glutamine synthetase activity. This interrupted version of a glutamine synthetase gene was substituted for the normal R. meliloti sequence by homologous recombination in R. meliloti. Recombinants lose GSI activity, but retain GSII activity and grow well with ammonia as the sole nitrogen source. These mutants are unaffected in nodulation and nitrogen fixation.     

Overexpression of a Streptomyces viridochromogenes gene (glnII) encoding a glutamine synthetase similar to those of eucaryotes confers resistance against the antibiotic phosphinothricyl-alanyl-alanine.

Phosphinothricyl-alanyl-alanine (PTT), also known as bialaphos, contains phosphinothricin, a potent inhibitor of glutamine synthetase (GS). A 2.75-kilobase NcoI fragment of the Streptomyces viridochromogenes PTT-resistant mutant ES2 cloned on a multicopy vector mediated PTT resistance to S. lividans and to S. viridochromogenes. Nucleotide sequence analysis of the 2.75-kb NcoI fragment revealed the presence of three open reading frames. Open reading frame 3 was termed glnII since significant similarity was found between its deduced amino acid sequence and those from GS of eucaryotes and GSII of members of the family Rhizobiaceae. Subcloning experiments showed that PTT resistance is mediated by overexpression of glnII encoding a 37.3-kilodalton protein of 343 amino acids. A three- to fourfold increase in gamma-glutamyltransferase activity could be observed in S. lividans transformants carrying the glnII gene on a multicopy plasmid. For S. viridochromogenes it was shown that PTT resistance conferred by the 2.75-kb NcoI fragment was dependent on its multicopy state. GS activity encoded by glnII was found to be heat labile. Southern hybridization with seven different Streptomyces strains suggested that they all carry two types of GS genes, glnA and glnII.     

斜茎黄芪根瘤菌谷氨酰胺合成酶基因多样性研究

研究了22株代表性斜茎黄芪根瘤菌的谷氨酰胺合成酶基因多样性。首先对供试菌株进行了谷氨酰胺合成酶glnA和glnII基因扩增,结果显示从来自Mesorhizobium和Rhizobium属的多数代表菌株都可以扩增到约1kp、大小一致的glnA基因产物,而从Agrobacterium sp.的4株代表菌株未能得到glnA PCR扩增产物。基因glnII的扩增结果显示几乎从所有测试菌株都能够得到基因产物,来自Mesorhizobium septentrionale、M.temperatum和Mesorhizobium spp.的代表菌株都得到了单一的、大小约400bp～500bp的glnII PCR扩增产物,而从Agrobacterium sp.的4株代表菌株扩增得到的glnII PCR扩增产物明显不同于其它斜茎黄芪根瘤菌代表菌,它们都有一条约1 kb的特征PCR扩增产物条带,SDW052和R084还出现了另外2～3个扩增产物条带。此外,基因glnA的RFLP分析结果与我们先前的16S rRNA基因分析结果具有很好的一致性,这些结果都进一步证实了这些根瘤菌的染色体基因多样性。     

Characterization and cloning of two Rhizobium leguminosarum genes coding for glutamine synthetase activities

We have demonstrated that Rhizobium leguminosarum strain LPR1105 contains a heat stable and a heat labile glutamine synthetase (EC 6.3.1.2) activity similar to those described for other Rhizobiaceae. Most of the activity is heat stable when this strain is grown on glutamine as sole nitrogen source, but most is heat labile when grown on nitrate. Using a gene bank of R. leguminosarum DNA we have isolated two clones, which code for heat stable (p7D9) and heat labile (p4F7) glutamine synthetase activity, by complementing the glutamine auxotrophy of Klebsiella pneumoniae glnA mutants. Cross-hybridization of p7D9 with a fragment of the glnA gene of K. pneumoniae was observed, but no cross-hybridization between p7D9 and p4F7 was found. Since these two regions hybridize to genomic DNA of R. leguminosarum they are probably the structural genes for GSI and GSII, and the availability of these genes will make it possible to test this hypothesis. Clone p4F7 complements an ntrC+ but not an ntrC K. pneumoniae glnA mutant, suggesting that the ntrC gene is required for the complementation of the glutamine auxotrophy by this plasmid.     

Molecular cloning, sequencing, and expression of the glutamine synthetase II (glnII) gene from the actinomycete root nodule symbiont Frankia sp. strain CpI1.

In common with other plant symbionts, Frankia spp., the actinomycete N2-fixing symbionts of certain nonleguminous woody plants, synthesize two glutamine synthetases, GSI and GSII. DNA encoding the Bradyrhizobium japonicum gene for GSII (glnII) hybridized to DNA from three Frankia strains. B. japonicum glnII was used as a probe to clone the glnII gene from a size-selected KpnI library of Frankia strain CpI1 DNA. The region corresponding to the Frankia sp. strain CpI1 glnII gene was sequenced, and the amino acid sequence was compared with that of the GS gene from the pea and glnII from B. japonicum. The Frankia glnII gene product has a high degree of similarity with both GSII from B. japonicum and GS from pea, although the sequence was about equally similar to both the bacterial and eucaryotic proteins. The Frankia glnII gene was also capable of complementing an Escherichia coli delta glnA mutant when transcribed from the vector lac promoter, but not when transcribed from the Frankia promoter. GSII produced in E. coli was heat labile, like the enzyme produced in Frankia sp. strain CpI1 but unlike the wild-type E. coli enzyme.     

Close linkage of genes encoding glutamine synthetases I and II in Frankia alni CpI1.

Frankia alni CpI1 has two glutamine synthetases (GSs), GSI and GSII. The GSI gene (glnA) was isolated from a cosmid library of F. alni CpI1 DNA by heterologous probing with glnA from Streptomyces coelicolor. The glnA gene was shown to be located upstream of the GSII gene (glnII) by DNA-DNA hybridization. The nucleotide sequences of the 1,422-bp CpI1 glnA gene and of the 449-bp intervening region between glnA and glnII were determined, and the glnA amino acid sequence was deduced. In common with GSIs from other organisms, CpI1 GSI contains five conserved regions near the active site and a conserved tyrosine at the adenylylation site. F. alni CpI1 glnA complemented the glutamine growth requirement of the Escherichia coli glnA deletion strain YMC11 but only when expressed from an E. coli lac promoter. While the functional significance of maintaining two GSs adjacent to one another remains unclear, this arrangement in F. alni provides support for the recently proposed origin of GSI and GSII as resulting from a gene duplication early in the evolution of life.     

Cloning, heterologous expression, and sequencing of the Proteus vulgaris glnAntrBC operon and implications of nitrogen control on heterologous urease expression

Abstract The glnAntrBC operon of Proteus vulgaris was cloned and heterologously expressed in Escherichia coli . The nucleotide sequence was determined. An open reading frame of 1407 bp was identified as the glnA gene and the deduced amino acid sequence showed 82% identity with the E. coli glutamine synthetase protein. Heterologous expression of the glnA gene in E. coli restored glutamine synthetase (GS) activity in a GS-negative mutant and a 52 kDa protein was detected and addressed as the GS subunit of P. vulgaris . Adjacent to the glnA gene the regulatory genes ntrB and ntrC were identified. Their coding regions comprised 1053 and 1452 bp, respectively, and the deduced gene products NR_II (NtrB) and NR_I (NtrC) shared 72% identity with the corresponding E. coli proteins. Heterologous expression in E. coli revealed only a 54 kDa protein which was shown to be NR_I. NR_II was not detectable using the methods employed.     

Ammonium assimilation in Rhizobium phaseoli by the glutamine synthetase-glutamate synthase pathway.

Evidence from in vitro and in vivo studies showed that in Rhizobium phaseoli ammonium is assimilated by the glutamine synthetase (GS)-glutamate synthase NADPH pathway. No glutamate dehydrogenase activity was detected. R. phaseoli has two GS enzymes, as do other rhizobia. The two GS activities are regulated on the basis of the requirement for low (GSI) or high (GSII) ammonium assimilation. When the 2-oxoglutarate/glutamine ratio decreases, GSI is adenylylated. When GSI is inactivated, GSII is induced. However, induction of GSII activity varied depending on the rate of change of this ratio. GSII was inactivated after the addition of high ammonium concentrations, when the 2-oxoglutarate/glutamine ratio decreased rapidly. Ammonium inactivation resulted in alteration of the catalytic and physical properties of GSII. GSII inactivation was not relieved by shifting of the cultures to glutamate. After GSII inactivation, ammonium was excreted into the medium. Glutamate synthase activity was inhibited by some organic acids and repressed when cells were grown with glutamate as the nitrogen source.     

Cloning and expression of the Thiobacillus ferrooxidans glutamine synthetase gene in Escherichia coli.

The glutamine synthetase (GS) gene glnA of Thiobacillus ferrooxidans was cloned on recombinant plasmid pMEB100 which enabled Escherichia coli glnA deletion mutants to utilize (NH4)2SO4 as the sole source of nitrogen. High levels of GS-specific activity were obtained in the E. coli glnA deletion mutants containing the T. ferrooxidans GS gene. The cloned T. ferrooxidans DNA fragment containing the glnA gene activated histidase activity in an E. coli glnA glnL glnG deletion mutant containing the Klebsiella aerogenes hut operon. Plasmid pMEB100 also enabled the E. coli glnA glnL glnG deletion mutant to utilize arginine or low levels of glutamine as the sole source of nitrogen. There was no detectable DNA homology between the T. ferrooxidans glnA gene and the E. coli glnA gene.