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Nif and Nod Genes in Azospirillum

  • Chapter
Nitrogen Fixation

Part of the book series: Developments in Plant and Soil Sciences ((DPSS,volume 48))

Abstract

Azospirillum can fix nitrogen under free-living conditions or in association with grasses. Genetics of nitrogen fixation was initiated in A. brasilense Sp7. A 30 kb DNA region containing nifHDK, the structural genes for nitrogenase, nifE, nifUS, and fixABC has been analyzed. DNA regions containing nifA-nifB and ntrC have been cloned. These regions are not adjacent to the main nitrogen fixation cluster nor to the structural gene for glutamine synthetase (glnA). The regulation of nifH, glnB and glnA transcription was studied. Three types of nitrogen-regulated promoter regions were characterized. Azospirillum strains contain large plasmids. A 90 MDa plasmid was purified from strain Sp7 and its physical map was established. This plasmid carries two ORFs highly homologous to the Rhizobium meliloti nodulation genes nodPQ as well as loci that complement EPS mutants of R. meliloti. Another region carrying an ORF homologous to R. meliloti nodG was characterized.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Département des Biotechnologies CNRS URA 1300, Institut Pasteur, 25 rue du Dr. Roux, 75724, Paris cedex 15, France

    C. Elmerich, M. de Zamaroczy, C. Vieille, F. Delorme, I. Onyeocha, Y. Y. Liang & W. Zimmer

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  1. C. Elmerich
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  2. M. de Zamaroczy
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  3. C. Vieille
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  4. F. Delorme
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  5. I. Onyeocha
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  6. Y. Y. Liang
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  7. W. Zimmer
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Florence, Florence, Italy

    M. Polsinelli , R. Materassi  & M. Vincenzini ,  & 

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© 1991 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht

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Elmerich, C. et al. (1991). Nif and Nod Genes in Azospirillum. In: Polsinelli, M., Materassi, R., Vincenzini, M. (eds) Nitrogen Fixation. Developments in Plant and Soil Sciences, vol 48. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-3486-6_19

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-3486-6_19

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-94-010-5541-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-011-3486-6

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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