Summary
After random Tn5 mutagenesis of the stem-nodulating Sesbania rostrata symbiont strain ORS571, Nif-, Fix- and Nod- mutants were isolated. The Nif- mutants had lost both free-living and symbiotic N2 fixation capacity. The Fix- mutants normally fixed N2 in the free-living state but induced ineffective nodules on S. rostrata. They were defective in functions exclusively required for symbiotic N2 fixation. A further analysis of the Nod- mutants allowed the identification of two nod loci. A Tn5 insertion in nod locus 1 completely abolished both root and stem nodulation capacity. Root hair curling, which is an initial event in S. rostrata root nodulation, was no longer observed. A 400 bp region showing weak homology to the nodC gene of Rhizobium meliloti was located 1.5 kb away from this nod Tn5 insertion. A Tn5 insertion in nod locus 2 caused the loss of stem and root nodulation capacity but root hair curling still occurred. The physical maps of a 20.5 kb DNA region of nod locus 1 and of a 40 kb DNA region of nod locus 2 showed no overlaps. The two nod loci are not closely linked to nif locus 1, containing the structural genes for the nitrogenase complex (Elmerich et al. 1982).
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Van den Eede, G., Dreyfus, B., Goethals, K. et al. Identification and cloning of nodulation genes from the stem-nodulating bacterium ORS571. Mol Gen Genet 206, 291–299 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00333587
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00333587