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J. Bacteriol., 05 1995, 2760-2768, Vol 177, No. 10
JH Zeilstra-Ryalls and S Kaplan
Rhodobacter sphaeroides H-5 was isolated as a 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA)
auxotroph following treatment of wild-type cells with N-methyl-N-
nitroso-N'-nitroguanidine (J. Lascelles and T. Altshuler, J. Bacteriol.
98:721-727, 1969). The existence in R. sphaeroides 2.4.1 of the genes hemA
and hemT, each encoding the enzyme 5-aminolevulinic acid synthase (EC
2.3.1.37), raised questions as to the genetic basis for the ALA auxotrophy
in mutant H-5. We therefore cloned both the hemA and hemT genes from mutant
H-5. The hemA gene has been sequenced in its entirety and bears four base
pair substitutions which encode three amino acid changes relative to the
sequence of wild-type strain 2.4.1. Complementation analysis of an
Escherichia coli ALA auxotroph has revealed that the loss of ALA synthase
activity in the HemA mutant enzyme could be localized to two of the amino
acid substitutions. On the other hand, the hemT gene from mutant H-5 was
able to complement an E. coli mutant requiring ALA for growth.
Complementation analyses were also carried out by introducing the cloned
hemA or hemT gene of mutant H-5 or wild-type 2.4.1 in trans into H-5 and,
in parallel, into our previously described HemA-HemT double mutant strain
AT1 (E. L. Neidle and S. Kaplan, J. Bacteriol. 175:2304-2313, 1993). This
analysis revealed that while the complementation pattern of mutant AT1
parallels that for the E. coli ALA auxotroph, mutant H-5 could only be
complemented by the wild-type hemA gene. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Copyright © 1995, American Society for Microbiology
Regulation of 5-aminolevulinic acid synthesis in Rhodobacter sphaeroides 2.4.1: the genetic basis of mutant H-5 auxotrophy
Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston 77225, USA.
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