Nickel-resistant determinant from Leptospirillum ferriphilum

Leptospirillum ferriphilum strain UBK03 isolated from a mine in Jiangxi, China, is resistant to Ni(2+) (30 to 40 mM). A four-gene nickel resistance cluster was identified and, when transformed into Escherichia coli, enabled growth in 6 mM nickel. Mutation experiments revealed that the genes ncrA, ncrB, and ncrC could confer nickel resistance in Escherichia coli, whereas the gene ncrY could have a negative effect on nickel resistance.