Mutational alteration of a nitrogen-fixing bacterium to sensitivity to infection by bacteriophage Mu: isolation of nif mutations of Klebsiella pneumoniae M5al induced by Mu.
The nitrogen-fixing bacterium Klebsiella pneumoniae M5al is not sensitive to infection by bacteriophage Mu. A mutant of K. pneumoniae that is sensitive to Mu infection was isolated. Several Mu-induced auxotrophic mutations of K. pneumoniae including nif, trp, and rtl were isolated and genetically characterized. Evidence is presented that the Mu-induced mutations of nif arise as the result of insertion of Mu within (or near) the nif operon(s). The rtl locus, which determines the ability to utilize ribitol as a carbon source, was found to be linked to nif loci.
D001435:Bacteriophages / Q000254:growth & development*; D008040:Genetic Linkage; D007711:Klebsiella pneumoniae / Q000378:metabolism*; D009154:Mutation; D009586:Nitrogen Fixation; D009876:Operon; D011995:Recombination, Genetic; D010948:Viral Plaque Assay; D014779:Virus Replication