The role of ntrA in the anaerobic metabolism of Salmonella typhimurium

The possible involvement of NtrA in the expression of several anaerobically induced genes in Salmonella typhimurium was investigated. Unlike Escherichia coli, where hydrogenase 3 is ntrA dependent, the introduction of a mutation in ntrA had virtually no effect on the hydrogenase activity, thought to be hydrogenase 3, of S. typhimurium LT7. Fumarate reductase and alcohol dehydrogenase activities were found to be diminished in ntrA mutant strains, but this may very well be indirect since fdhF mutant strains showed the same effect. These results suggest that in S. typhimurium NtrA is highly specific for the anaerobic expression of fdhF.