Proline production by regulatory mutants of Serratia marcescens

Summary Proline-producing strains of Serratia marcescens Sr41 were constructed by three rounds of mutagenesis. A strain SP103 which did not degrade l-proline carried the putA mutation leading to lack of proline oxidase. A 3,4-dehydroproline-resistant mutant SP105, derived from strain SP103, carried the dpr-1 mutation which resulted in desensitization of the feedback inhibition of glutamate kinase. Strain SP103 produced 5.5 mg of l-proline per ml of fermentation medium containing sucrose and urea. Growth inhibition by proline analogs was enhanced when succinate was used as a carbon source in the medium. A thiazolidine-4-carboxylate-resistant mutant SP126 derived from strain SP105 produced 20.5 mg of l-proline per ml of medium. The mutation carried by strain SP126 might be distant from dpr-1 and putA mutations on the chromosome. Pyrroline-5-carboxylate reductase was not repressed by proline in S. marcescens Sr41.     

Extracellular production of menaquinone-4 by a mutant of Flavobacterium sp. 238-7 with a detergent-supplemented culture

Culture conditions for the extracellular production of menaquinone (MK) by a mutant strain, K₃-15, of Flavobacterium sp. 238-7 were investigated. A detergent-supplemented culture medium consisted of 60 g of glycerol, 23 g of peptone, 3 g of yeast extract, 7 g of K₂HPO₄, 5 g of NaCl, 0.8 g of MgSO₄ · 7H₂O, and 0.5 g of Rikanon UA 5012 in 1 l of tap water, pH 7.0, was constructed. Amounts of MK-4, MK-6, and total MK in 1 l of the medium were 101 mg, 39 mg, and 140 mg, respectively, after 7 d of cultivation at 28°C. Further studies with some additives showed that the addition of cedar wood oil increased the productivity of MK, especially MK-4. In the presence of 0.1% Rikanon UA 5012 and 0.1% cedar wood oil, mutant strain K₃-15 produced 155 mg/l intracellularly and 105 mg/l extracellularly) of MK-4 and 27 mg/l (16 mg/l intracellularly and 11 mg/l extracellularly) of MK-6, and the total amount of MK reached 182 mg/l.     

Simultaneous utilization of D-cellobiose, D-glucose, and D-xylose by recombinant Corynebacterium glutamicum under oxygen-deprived conditions

Corynebacterium glutamicum R was metabolically engineered to broaden its sugar utilization range to d-xylose and d-cellobiose contained in lignocellulose hydrolysates. The resultant recombinants expressed Escherichia coli xylA and xylB genes, encoding d-xylose isomerase and xylulokinase, respectively, for d-xylose utilization and expressed C. glutamicum R bglF ^317A and bglA genes, encoding phosphoenolpyruvate:carbohydrate phosphotransferase system (PTS) β-glucoside-specific enzyme IIBCA component and phospho-β-glucosidase, respectively, for d-cellobiose utilization. The genes were fused to the non-essential genomic regions distributed around the C. glutamicum R chromosome and were under the control of their respective constitutive promoter trc and tac that permitted their expression even in the presence of d-glucose. The enzyme activities of resulting recombinants increased with the increase in the number of respective integrated genes. Maximal sugar utilization was realized with strain X5C1 harboring five xylA–xylB clusters and one bglF ^317A –bglA cluster. In both d-cellobiose and d-xylose utilization, the sugar consumption rates by genomic DNA-integrated strain were faster than those by plasmid-bearing strain, respectively. In mineral medium containing 40 g l⁻¹ d-glucose, 20 g l⁻¹ d-xylose, and 10 g l⁻¹ d-cellobiose, strain X5C1 simultaneously and completely consumed these sugars within 12 h and produced predominantly lactic and succinic acids under growth-arrested conditions.     

Construction of a threonine-hyperproducing strain of Serratia marcescens by amplifying the phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase gene

Summary The phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase gene (ppc) of Escherichia coli K-12 was cloned on the multi-copy plasmid pLG339. Plasmid pST101, which carried a 4.3-kb SalI fragment, was introduced into Serratia marcescens T-1165, which carried the seven regulatory mutations for three aspartokinases and two homoserine dehydrogenases. Strain T-1165[pST101] produced phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase at a rate 26 times higher than the control strain T-1165[pLG339]. While T-1165[pST101] produced 63 mg/ml l-threonine in a medium containing sucrose and urea, whereas T-1165 only produced 52 mg/ml.     

A genetic analysis system of Burkholderia cepacia: construction of mobilizable transposons and a cloning vector

A genetic analysis system of Burkholderia cepacia (Bc) was developed which included transposon mutagenesis and complementation of mutation with the cloned genes of interest. To deliver the transposon in this multidrug-resistant microorganism, two plasmids, pKN30 and pKN31, were constructed which contained Tn5 derivatives, Tn5-30Tp and Tn5-31Tp, respectively, carrying Km^R and Tp^R genes. The plasmids have the origin of ColE1 replication and the mobilization gene of RP4. Tn5-31Tp was mobilized to Bc KF1, a strain isolated from a pneumonia patient, by the transfer system of RP4 integrated in the chromosome of Escherichia coli (Ec). Selection with trimethoprim resulted in generation of a number of transposants of Bc KF1. Fourteen protease-deficient mutants were isolated, all of which contained a single transposon marker in the chromosome. Thirteen protease-deficient mutants were also lipase deficient. An Ec-Bc shuttle plasmid, pTS1209, was constructed that consists of oriColE1, oripSa, Ap^R and Cm^R genes, and several unique restriction sites for cloning. Plasmid pTS1209 was successfully employed for cloning genes of Bc involved in protease production.     

A Comprehensive Analysis of In Vitro and In Vivo Genetic Fitness of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Using High-Throughput Sequencing of Transposon Libraries

High-throughput sequencing of transposon (Tn) libraries created within entire genomes identifies and quantifies the contribution of individual genes and operons to the fitness of organisms in different environments. We used insertion-sequencing (INSeq) to analyze the contribution to fitness of all non-essential genes in the chromosome of Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain PA14 based on a library of ∼300,000 individual Tn insertions. In vitro growth in LB provided a baseline for comparison with the survival of the Tn insertion strains following 6 days of colonization of the murine gastrointestinal tract as well as a comparison with Tn-inserts subsequently able to systemically disseminate to the spleen following induction of neutropenia. Sequencing was performed following DNA extraction from the recovered bacteria, digestion with the MmeI restriction enzyme that hydrolyzes DNA 16 bp away from the end of the Tn insert, and fractionation into oligonucleotides of 1,200–1,500 bp that were prepared for high-throughput sequencing. Changes in frequency of Tn inserts into the P. aeruginosa genome were used to quantify in vivo fitness resulting from loss of a gene. 636 genes had <10 sequencing reads in LB, thus defined as unable to grow in this medium. During in vivo infection there were major losses of strains with Tn inserts in almost all known virulence factors, as well as respiration, energy utilization, ion pumps, nutritional genes and prophages. Many new candidates for virulence factors were also identified. There were consistent changes in the recovery of Tn inserts in genes within most operons and Tn insertions into some genes enhanced in vivo fitness. Strikingly, 90% of the non-essential genes were required for in vivo survival following systemic dissemination during neutropenia. These experiments resulted in the identification of the P. aeruginosa strain PA14 genes necessary for optimal survival in the mucosal and systemic environments of a mammalian host.     

Construction of an arginine-producing strain of Serratia marcescens

Summary In Serratia marcescens Sr41, l-canavanine was demonstrated to be a weak cell growth inhibitor in minimal medium containing glucose as the sole carbon source. The inhibition of cell growth was enhanced by changing the carbon source from glucose to l-glutamic acid. An arginine regulatory mutant (i.e., argR mutant) in which formation of l-arginine biosynthetic enzymes was genetically derepressed was isolated by selecting for l-canavanine resistance on the glutamate medium. Furthermore, an l-arginine-producing strain was constructed by introducing the mutation leading to feedback-resistant N-acetylglutamate synthase into the argR mutant. The resulting transductant produced about 40 g/l of l-arginine, whereas the wild strain produced no l-arginine and the argR mutant only 3 g/l.     

Production of Polyalcohol by a Corynebacterium sp.

A gluconate-utilizing strain of Corynebacterium was found to be capable of utilizing aldopentoses and producing corresponding pentitols when pentoses were added to the medium containing gluconate as a carbon source during the cultivation of the organism.

Pentitols produced from d-xylose, l-arabinose, and d-ribose were isolated from the cultured medium and identified as xylitol, l-arabitol, and ribitol, respectively.

The pentitol production was significantly influenced by the concentration of gluconate in the initial medium and that of pentose added to the medium during the cultivation.

The amount of xylitol, l-arabitol, and ribitol reached 69 mg/ml, 60 mg/ml, and 32 mg/ml, respectively, after 14 days of incubation when pentoses were added to the medium containing 9.6% potassium gluconate to give a final concentration of 150 mg/ml.     

Analysis of the regulation of penicillin biosynthesis in Aspergillus nidulans by targeted disruption of the acvA gene

To analyse the regulation of the biosynthesis of the secondary metabolite penicillin in Aspergillus nidulans, a strain with an inactivated acvA gene produced by targeted disruption was used. acvA encodes δ-(l-α-aminoadipyl)-l-cysteinyl-d-valine synthetase (ACVS), which catalyses the first step in the penicillin biosynthetic pathway. To study the effect of the inactivated acvA gene on the expression of acvA and the second gene, ipnA, which encodes isopenicillin N synthase (IPNS), A. nidulans strain XEPD, with the acvA disruption, was crossed with strain AXB4A carrying acvA-uidA and ipnA-lacZ fusion genes. Ascospores with the predicted non-penicillin producing phenotype and a hybridization pattern indicating the presence of the disrupted acvA gene, and the fusion genes integrated in single copy at the chromosomal argB locus were identified. Both fusion genes were expressed at the same level as in the non-disrupted strain. Western blot analysis (immunoblotting) revealed that similar amounts of IPNS enzyme were present in both strains from 24 to 68 h of a fermentation run. In the acvA disrupted strain, IPNS and acyl-CoA: 6-aminopenicillanic acid acyltransferase (ACT) specific activities were detected, excluding a sequential induction mechanism of regulation of the penicillin biosynthesis gene ipnA and the third gene aat.     

Genetic and biochemical characterization of the birA gene and its product: evidence for a direct role of biotin holoenzyme synthetase in repression of the biotin operon in Escherichia coli

Lesions at the birA locus of Escherichia coli produce, in varying degrees, derepression of the biotin operon and an increased minimum biotin growth requirement (Barker &; Campbell, 1980) as well as diminished biotin uptake and defective biotin holoenzyme synthetase activity (Campbell et al., 1972, 1980). In the accompanying paper, we showed that three birA mutants produce biotin holoenzyme synthetase with altered in vitro properties and that they carry lesions in the structural gene for this enzyme. The pleiotropic birA defect was attributed to structural interactions between a protein domain which includes the holoenzyme synthetase active site and a second protein domain, possibly part of the same polypeptide, which functions as the bio repressor.To determine if one or more genes reside at birA, we tested pairwise combinations of nine mutations with representative phenotypes for their ability to establish repression of bio expression. The mutations define a single complementation group. Instances of partial complementation appear to be intracistronic, suggesting that the birA product forms a multimer active as both biotin holoenzyme synthetase and repressor.DNA segments that include and express the birA gene have been cloned into multicopy plasmids. Plasmid-mediated expression of birA can produce a state of superrepression of the bio operon and a concomitant increase in holoenzyme synthetase specific activity. The complementation properties of derivative plasmids, with insertions of Tn5 or small deletions in the bacterial DNA segment, define a 1.6 × 10³ base region that includes the birA gene and a 0.9 × 10³ base segment essential to biotin holoenzyme synthetase and repressor function. The region is flanked by the thrT and tufB genes in a previously unassigned region of the bacterial DNA carried by λdrif^d18.A preparation of holoenzyme synthetase, purified nearly 10,000-fold, contains a protein that binds specifically to biotin operator DNA as determined by its ability to protect a TaqI endonuclease site that borders the imperfect inverted repeat where the bio repressor is presumed to bind. Biotinyl 5′-adenylate or biotin plus ATP are more effective corepressors than biotin alone, suggesting that biotinyl 5′-adenylate, a presumed intermediate in the holoenzyme synthetase reaction, is the true corepressor.     

Homofermentative production of d-lactic acid from sucrose by a metabolically engineered Escherichia coli

Escherichia coli W, a sucrose-positive strain, was engineered for the homofermentative production of d-lactic acid through chromosomal deletion of the competing fermentative pathway genes (adhE, frdABCD, pta, pflB, aldA) and the repressor gene (cscR) of the sucrose operon, and metabolic evolution for improved anaerobic cell growth. The resulting strain, HBUT-D, efficiently fermented 100?g?sucrose?l^?1 into 85?g?d-lactic acid?l^?1 in 72–84?h in mineral salts medium with a volumetric productivity of ~1?g?l^?1?h^?1, a product yield of 85?% and d-lactic acid optical purity of 98.3?%, and with a minor by-product of 4?g?acetate?l^?1. HBUT-D thus has great potential for production of d-lactic acid using an inexpensive substrate, such as sugar cane and/or beet molasses, which are primarily composed of sucrose.     

Engineering of an <Emphasis Type="SmallCaps">l</Emphasis>-arabinose metabolic pathway in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Corynebacterium glutamicum</Emphasis>

Corynebacterium glutamicum was metabolically engineered to broaden its substrate utilization range to include the pentose sugar l-arabinose, a product of the degradation of lignocellulosic biomass. The resultant CRA1 recombinant strain expressed the Escherichia coli genes araA, araB, and araD encoding l-arabinose isomerase, l-ribulokinase, and l-ribulose-5-phosphate 4-epimerase, respectively, under the control of a constitutive promoter. Unlike the wild-type strain, CRA1 was able to grow on mineral salts medium containing l-arabinose as the sole carbon and energy source. The three cloned genes were expressed to the same levels whether cells were cultured in the presence of d-glucose or l-arabinose. Under oxygen deprivation and with l-arabinose as the sole carbon and energy source, strain CRA1 carbon flow was redirected to produce up to 40, 37, and 11%, respectively, of the theoretical yields of succinic, lactic, and acetic acids. Using a sugar mixture containing 5% d-glucose and 1% l-arabinose under oxygen deprivation, CRA1 cells metabolized l-arabinose at a constant rate, resulting in combined organic acids yield based on the amount of sugar mixture consumed after d-glucose depletion (83%) that was comparable to that before d-glucose depletion (89%). Strain CRA1 is, therefore, able to utilize l-arabinose as a substrate for organic acid production even in the presence of d-glucose.     

Construction of lactose-consuming Saccharomyces cerevisiae for lactose fermentation into ethanol fuel

Two lactose-consuming diploid Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains, AY-51024A and AY-51024M, were constructed by expressing the LAC4 and LAC12 genes of Kluyveromyces marxianus in the host strain AY-5. In AY-51024A, both genes were targeted to the ATH1 and NTH1 gene-encoding regions to abolish the activity of acid/neutral trehalase. In AY-51024M, both genes were respectively integrated into the MIG1 and NTH1 gene-encoding regions to relieve glucose repression. Physiologic studies of the two transformants under anaerobic cultivations in glucose and galactose media indicated that the expression of both LAC genes did not physiologically burden the cells, except for AY-51024A in glucose medium. Galactose consumption was initiated at higher glucose concentrations in the MIG1 deletion strain AY-51024M than in the corresponding wild-type strain and AY-51024A, wherein galactose was consumed until glucose was completely depleted in the mixture. In lactose medium, the Sp. growth rates of AY-51024A and AY-51024M under anaerobic shake-flasks were 0.025 and 0.067 h^?1, respectively. The specific lactose uptake rate and ethanol production of AY-51024M were 2.50 g lactose g CDW^?1 h^?1 and 23.4 g l^?1, respectively, whereas those of AY-51024A were 0.98 g lactose g CDW^?1 h^?1 and 24.3 g lactose g CDW^?1 h^?1, respectively. In concentrated cheese whey powder solutions, AY-51024M produced 63.3 g l^?1 ethanol from approximately 150 g l^?1 initial lactose in 120 h, conversely, AY-51024A consumed 63.7 % of the initial lactose and produced 35.9 g l^?1 ethanol. Therefore, relieving glucose repression is an effective strategy for constructing lactose-consuming S. cerevisiae.     

Rhizobium meliloti mutants that overproduce the R. meliloti acidic calcofluor-binding exopolysaccharide.

The acidic Calcofluor-binding exopolysaccharide of Rhizobium meliloti Rm1021 plays one or more critical roles in nodule invasion and possibly in nodule development. Two loci, exoR and exoS, that affect the regulation of synthesis of this exopolysaccharide were identified by screening for derivatives of strain Rm1021 that formed mucoid colonies that fluoresced extremely brightly under UV light when grown on medium containing Calcofluor. The exopolysaccharide produced in large quantities by the exoR95::Tn5 and exoS96::Tn5 strains was indistinguishable from that produced by the parental strain Rm1021, and its synthesis required the function of at least the exoA, exoB, and exoF genes. Both the exoR and exoS loci were located on the chromosome, and the exo96::Tn5 mutation was 84% linked to the trp-33 mutation by phi M12 transduction. Synthesis of the Calcofluor-binding exopolysaccharide by strain Rm1021 was greatly stimulated by starvation for ammonia. In contrast, the exoR95::Tn5 mutant produced high levels of exopolysaccharide regardless of the presence or absence of ammonia in the medium. The exoS96::Tn5 mutant produced elevated amounts of exopolysaccharide in the presence of ammonia, but higher amounts were observed after starvation for ammonia. The presence of either mutation increased the level of expression of exoF::TnphoA and exoP::TnphoA fusions (TnphoA is Tn5 IS50L::phoA). Analyses of results obtained when alfalfa seedlings were inoculated with the exoR95::Tn5 strain indicated that the mutant strain could not invade nodules. However, pseudorevertants that retained the original exoR95::Tn5 mutation but acquired unlinked suppressors so that they produced an approximately normal amount of exopolysaccharide were able to invade nodules and fix nitrogens. The exoS95::Tn5 strain formed Fix+ nodules, although some minor variability was observed.     

Symbiotically defective histidine auxotrophs of Bradyrhizobium japonicum

Four histidine auxotrophs of Bradyrhizobium japonicum strain USDA 122 were isolated by random transposon Tn5 mutagenesis. These mutants arose from different, single transposition events as shown by the comparison of EcoRI and XhoI-generated Tn5 flanking sequences of genomic DNA. The mutants grew on minimal medium supplemented with l-histidine or l-histidinol but failed to grow with l-histidinol phosphate. While two of the muants were symbiotically defective and did not form nodules on Glycine max cvs. Lee and Peking and on Glycine soja, the other two mutants were symbiotically competent. Reversion to prototrophy occurred at a frequency of about 10^-7 on growth medium without added antibiotics, but prototrophs could not be isolated from growth medium containing 200 g/ml kanamycin and streptomycin. The prototrophic revertants formed nodules on all the soybean cultivars examined. When histidine was supplied to the plant growth medium, both nodulation deficient mutants formed effective symbioses. On histidine unamended plants, nodules were observed infrequently. Three classes of bacterial colonies were isolated from such infrequent nodules: class 1 were kanamycin resistant-auxotrophs; class 2 were kanamycin sensitive-prototrophs; and class 3 were kanamycin-sensitive auxotrophs. Our results suggest that two Tn5 insertion mutations in B. japonicum leading to histidine auxotrophy, affect nodulation in some way. These mutations are in regions that show no homology to the Rhizobium meliloti common nodulation genes.     

Isolation and characterization of genes encoding two chitinase enzymes from Serratia marcescens

Analysis of clones isolated from a cosmid DNA library indicates that the Serratia marcescens chromosome contains at least two genes, chiA and chiB, which encode distinct secreted forms of the enzyme chitinase. These genes have been characterized by inspection of chitinase activity and secreted proteins in Escherichia coli strains containing subclones of these cosmids. The two chitinase genes show no detectable homology to each other. DNA sequence analysis of one of the genes predicts an amino acid sequence with an N-terminal signal peptide typical of genes encoding secreted bacterial proteins. This gene was mutagenized by cloning a neomycin phosphotransferase gene within its coding region, and the insertion mutation was recombined into the parental S. marcescens strain. The resulting chiA mutant transconjugant showed reduced chitinase production, reduced inhibition of fungal spore germination and reduced biological control of a fungal plant pathogen.     

Effect of Explant Source on Axillary Shoot Multiplication During Micropropagation of a Rare Medicinal Plant — Wattakaka volubilis (L f) Stapf

Nodal explants of in vivo plants and in vitro seedlings of Wattakaka volubilis were cultured on Murashige and Skoog medium fortified with various concentrations of cytokinins — BA (0.5–5 mg l^?1), KN (0.5–10 mg l^?1),TDZ (0.05–1 mg l^?1) either singly or in combination with NAA (0.1 mg l^?1). KN proved best for inducing healthy shoots in both in vitro and in vivo derived explants. Maximum number of shoots (14.1±0.84) with 80% regeneration frequency was obtained from nodal explants of seedlings cultured on 5 mg 1^?1 KN + 0.1 mg l^?1 NAA. In vivo nodal explants produced a maximum of 4.2 shoots on MS medium fortified with 2 mg l^?1 BA+0.1 mg l^?1 NAA. The differentiated shoots from both could be rooted with 85% frequency on 1/2 strength MS medium (1% sucrose) with 0.6% agar + 1 mg l^?1 IBA + 0.2 mg l^?1 KN. Rooted shoots were transplanted to vermiculite-soil (3:1) mixture in polyethylene covered pots with 45% transplantation success. Peroxidase isozymes (native PAGE) analysis helped to verify the variation in regenerated plants.     

Production of lycopene by metabolically-engineered Escherichia coli

Escherichia coli strain CAR001 that produces β-carotene was genetically engineered to produce lycopene by deleting genes encoding zeaxanthin glucosyltransferase (crtX) and lycopene β-cyclase (crtY) from the crtEXYIB operon. The resulting strain, LYC001, produced 10.5 mg lycopene/l (6.5 mg/g dry cell weight, DCW). Modulating expression of genes encoding α-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase, succinate dehydrogenase and transaldolase B within central metabolic modules increased NADPH and ATP supplies, leading to a 76 % increase of lycopene yield. Ribosome binding site libraries were further used to modulate expression of genes encoding 1-deoxy-d-xylulose-5-phosphate synthase (dxs) and isopentenyl diphosphate isomerase (idi) and the crt gene operon, which improved the lycopene yield by 32 %. The optimal strain LYC010 produced 3.52 g lycopene/l (50.6 mg/g DCW) in fed-batch fermentation.     

Effects of l-lysine and d-lysine on ɛ-Poly-l-lysine biosynthesis and their metabolites by Streptomyces ahygroscopicus GIM8

?-Poly-l-lysine (?-PL), produced by Streptomyces or Kitasatospora strains, is a homo-poly-amino acid of l-lysine, which is used as a safe food preservative. In this study, the effects of l-lysine and its isomer, d-lysine, on ?-PL biosynthesis and their metabolites by the ?-PL-producing strain Streptomyces ahygroscopicus GIM8 were determined. The results indicated that l-lysine added into the fermentation medium in the production phase mainly served as a precursor for ?-PL biosynthesis during the flask culture phase, leading to greater ?-PL production. At an optimum level of 3 mM l-lysine, a ?-PL yield of 1.16 g/L was attained, with a 41.4% increment relative to the control of 0.78 g/L. Regarding d-lysine, the production of ?-PL increased by increasing its concentrations up to 6 mM in the initial fermentation medium. Interestingly, ?-PL production (1.20 g/L) with the addition of 3 mM d-lysine into the initial fermentation medium in flasks was higher than that of the initial addition of 3 mM L-lysine (1.06 g/L). The mechanism by which d-lysine improves ?-PL biosynthesis involves its utilization that leads to greater biomass. After S. ahygroscopicus GIM8 was cultivated in the defined medium with L-lysine, several key metabolites, including 5-aminovalerate, pipecolate, and l-2-aminoadipate formed in the cells, whereas only l-2-aminoadipate was observed after d-lysine metabolism. This result indicates that l-lysine and d-lysine undergo different metabolic pathways in the cells. Undoubtedly, the results of this study are expected to aid the understanding of ?-PL biosynthesis and serve as reference for the formulation of an alternative approach to improve ?-PL productivity using l-lysine as an additional substrate in the fermentation medium.     

Cytochrome mutants of bradyrhizobium induced by transposon tn5

Transposon Tn5 was used to mutate Bradyrhizobium japonicum USDA 61N. From over 5000 clones containing Tn5, 12 were selected and purified using a chemical reaction to identify oxidase-deficient clones. Four classes of mutants were identified based on the alterations in cytochromes. Most of the mutants had alterations in more than one cytochrome. Southern hybridization analysis of restricted genomic DNA of a representative strain of each class demonstrated that each mutant had a single Tn5 insert. Thus a single Tn5 insert produced pleiotropic effects on cytochromes. One class, which was totally deficient in cytochromes aa₃ and c, produced ineffective nodules on soybeans. Most of the strains representing the other classes produced effective nodules but exceptions were observed in each class. Bacteroids of the wild-type strain contained cytochrome aa₃. Bacteroids from one class of mutants were totally devoid of cytochrome aa₃. Several of these strains produced effective symbioses indicating that cytochrome aa₃ is not required for an effective symbiosis in this DNA homology group II strain which normally has this terminal oxidase in bacteroids.