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J Bacteriol, July 1998, p. 3598-3605, Vol. 180, No. 14
Biology Department, Rensselaer Polytechnic
Institute, Troy, New York 12180-3590
Received 12 March 1998/Accepted 12 May 1998
Recent studies suggested that the daily cycle of nitrogen fixation
activity in the marine filamentous nonheterocystous cyanobacterium Trichodesmium sp. is controlled by a circadian rhythm. In
this study, we evaluated the rhythm of nitrogen fixation in
Trichodesmium sp. strain IMS 101 by using the three
criteria for an endogenous rhythm. Nitrogenase transcript abundance
oscillated with a period of approximately 24 h, and the cycle was
maintained even under constant light conditions. The cyclic pattern of
transcript abundance was maintained when the culture was grown at 24 and 28.5°C, although the period was slightly longer (26 h) at the
higher temperature. The cycle of gene expression could be entrained
with light-dark cues. Results of inhibitor experiments indicated that
transcript abundance was regulated primarily by transcription
initiation, rather than by degradation. The circadian rhythm, the first
conclusively demonstrated endogenous rhythm in a filamentous
cyanobacterium, was also reflected in nitrogenase MoFe protein
abundance and patterns of Fe protein posttranslational
modification-demodification.
0021-9193/98/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1998, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
Circadian Rhythm of Nitrogenase Gene Expression in
the Diazotrophic Filamentous Nonheterocystous Cyanobacterium
Trichodesmium sp. Strain IMS 101
*
Corresponding author. Mailing address: Biology
Department, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 110 8th Street, Troy, NY
12180-3590. Phone: (518) 276-8386. Fax: (518) 276-2162. E-mail:
zehrj{at}rpi.edu.
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