Functional analysis of the GAF domain of NifA in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Azospirillum brasilense</Emphasis>: effects of Tyr→Phe mutations on NifA and its interaction with GlnB

Regulation of NifA activity in Azospirillum brasilense depends on GlnB (a PII protein), and it was previously reported that the target of GlnB activity is the N-terminal domain of NifA. Furthermore, mutation of the Tyr residue at position 18 in the N-terminal domain resulted in a NifA protein that did not require GlnB for activity under nitrogen fixation conditions. We report here that a NifA double mutant in which the Tyr residues at positions 18 and 53 of NifA N-were simultaneously replaced by Phe (NifA-Y1853F) displays high nitrogenase activity, which is still regulatable by ammonia, but not by GlnB. The yeast two-hybrid technique was used to investigate whether GlnB can physically interact with wild-type and mutant NifA proteins. GlnB was found to interact directly with the N-terminal GAF domain of wild-type NifA, but not with its central or C-terminal domain. GlnB could still bind to the single NifA mutants Y18F and Y53F. In contrast, no interaction was detected between GlnB and the double mutant NifA-Y18/53F or between GlnB and NifA-Y43.     

Control of Herbaspirillum seropedicae NifA Activity by Ammonium Ions and Oxygen

The activity of a truncated form of Herbaspirillum seropedicae NifA in different genetic backgrounds showed that its regulatory domain is involved in nitrogen control but not in O₂ sensitivity or Fe dependence. The model for nitrogen control involving PII could thus apply to the proteobacteria at large. NifA may have a role in controlling ADP-ribosylation of nitrogenase in Azospirillum brasilense.     

Control of Azospirillum brasilense NifA activity by PII: effect of replacing Tyr residues of the NifA N-terminal domain on NifA activity

It was previously reported that the N-terminal domain of Azospirillum brasilense NifA was a negative regulator of the NifA activity and that the P(II) protein prevented this inhibition under nitrogen fixing conditions. Here, we show that a mutation of a single Tyr residue at position 18 of the N-terminal domain of NifA led to an active NifA protein that did not require P(II) for activation under nitrogen fixation conditions.     

Coexistence of two structurally similar but functionally different PII proteins in Azospirillum brasilense.

The coexistence of two different PII, proteins in Azospirillum brasilense was established by comparing proteins synthesized by the wild-type strain and two null mutants of the characterized glnB gene (encoding PII) adjacent to glnA. Strains were grown under conditions of nitrogen limitation or nitrogen excess. The proteins were analyzed by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) or isoelectric focusing gel electrophoresis and revealed either by [32P]phosphate or [3H]uracil labeling or by cross-reaction with an anti-A. brasilense PII-antiserum. After SDS-PAGE, a single band of 12.5 kDa revealed by the antiserum in all conditions tested was resolved by isoelectric focusing electrophoresis into two bands in the wild-type strain, one of which was absent in the glnB null mutant strains. The second PII protein, named Pz, was uridylylated under conditions of nitrogen limitation. The amino acid sequence deduced from the nucleotide sequence of the corresponding structural gene, called glnZ, is very similar to that of PII. Null mutants in glnB were impaired in regulation of nitrogen fixation and in their swarming properties but not in glutamine synthetase adenylylation. No glnZ mutant is yet available, but it is clear that PII and Pz are not functionally equivalent, since glnB null mutant strains exhibit phenotypic characters. The two proteins are probably involved in different regulatory steps of the nitrogen metabolism in A. brasilense.     

Regulation of nitrogen fixation in Azospirillum brasilense Sp7: Involvement of nifA, glnA and glnB gene products

The expression of nifA-, niH- and nifB-lacZ fusions was examined in different mutants of Azospirillum brasilense. Mutations in nifA, glnA and glnB severely impaired the expression of nifH- and nifB-lacZ fusions. By contrast, a nifA-lacZ fusion was not affected in a nifA or a glnB background and was only partially impaired in glnA mutants. It is proposed that in A. brasilense, the PII protein and glutamine synthetase are involved in a post-translational modification of NifA.     

Potential roles for the glnB and ntrYX genes in Azospirillum brasilense

Three Azospirillum brasilense mutants constitutive for nitrogen fixation (Nif(C)) in the presence of NH4(+) and deficient in nitrate-dependent growth were used as tools to define the roles of the glnB and ntrYX genes in this organism. Mutant HM14 was complemented for nitrate-dependent growth and NH4(+) regulation of nitrogenase by plasmid pL46 which contains the ntrYX genes of A. brasilense. Mutant HM26 was restored for NH4(+) regulation and nitrate-dependent growth by plasmid pJC1, carrying the A. brasilense glnB gene expressed from a constitutive promoter. Mutant HM053, on the other hand, was not complemented for NH4(+) regulation of nitrogenase and nitrate-dependent growth by both plasmids pJCI and pL46. The levels and control of glutamine synthetase activity of all mutants were not affected by both plasmids pL46 (ntrYX) and pJC1 (glnB). These results support the characterization of strains HM14 as an ntrYX mutant and strain HM26 as a glnB mutant and the involvement of ntrYX and glnB in the regulation of the general nitrogen metabolism in A. brasilense.     

肺炎克氏杆菌nifA基因在巴西固氮螺菌固氮基因表达的铵调节中的作用

固氯螺菌(Azospirillum)是一类仅在限铵和微好氧条件下固氮的微生物,它可与许多禾本科作物联合共生⑴,具有较大的应用潜力。铵作为固氮作用的调节信号,在固氮螺菌的实际应用中是首要的限制因素。在固氯螺菌中,铵不但具有与肺炎克氏杆菌(Klebsiella pneumoniae)相似的阻遏固氮酶合成的作用,而且还对已合成的固氮酶进行活性调节⑵。研究表明,其固氮酶翻译后活性调节的机制类似于深红红螺菌(Rhodospirillum rubrum)⑶,即在有铵条件下其固氮酶铁蛋白的一个亚基被共价修饰而丧失活性,这一过程是可逆的。由于铵在固氮螺菌中双水平地调节固氮作用,使得在野生菌株中研究其固氮基因表达水平上的调节较为困难。Zhang等⑷利用区域定位诱变技术获得了巴西固氮螺菌Sp7（A．Brasilense Sp7)的draT-突变株,在该突变株中铵不再影响固氮酶的活性,这为其固氮基因表达调节的研究提供了一个良好的材料。本文将组成型表达的肺炎克氏杆菌nifA基围引入该突变株中,通过分析讨论铵对巴西固氮螺菌固氮基固表达的调节作用方式。     

Nitrogenase switch-off by ammonium ions in Azospirillum brasilense requires the GlnB nitrogen signal-transducing protein

Nitrogenase activity in several diazotrophs is switched off by ammonium and reactivated after consumption. The signaling pathway to this system in Azospirillum brasilense is not understood. We show that ammonium-dependent switch-off through ADP-ribosylation of Fe protein was partial in a glnB mutant of A. brasilense but absent in a glnB glnZ double mutant. Triggering of inactivation by anaerobic conditions was not affected in either mutant. The results suggest that glnB is necessary for full ammonium-dependent nitrogenase switch-off in A. brasilense.