title: A sensor protein involved in induction of nitrate assimilation in Azotobacter chroococcum.
abstract: Nitrogen-fixing Azotobacter chroococcum cells, but not ammonium- or nitrate-grown cells, exhibited two polypeptide components of 22 and 35 kDa, respectively, that we termed P22 and P35. Bidimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis analysis of preparations from N2-fixing cells that had been transferred to nitrate medium and then incubated for 2 h revealed that P22 had shifted to a more acidic part of the gel while P35 did not change its electrophoretic pattern. Using [32P]orthophosphoric acid it could be demonstrated that the shift in mobility of P22 was due to the phosphorylation of the polypeptide dependent on nitrate (nitrite). The A. chroococcum TR1 strain, which is unable to use nitrate as a nitrogen source and displays activities of nitrogenase, nitrate reductase and nitrite reductase, exhibited both polypeptides. In contrast, P22 and P35 were absent from A. chroococcum MCD1, a mutant strain that cannot assimilate nitrate and lacks the nitrate-reducing enzymatic system. The results suggest that P22 could act as a sensor protein for nitrate in A. chroococcum.
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Bioquímica Vegetal y Fotosíntesis, Universidad de Sevilla-Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Spain.
authors.forename: M C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Muñoz-Centeno
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Peciña
authors.forename: F J
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Cejudo
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Paneque
mesh_terms: D001395:Azotobacter / Q000378:metabolism*; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000378:metabolism; D003470:Culture Media; D003593:Cytoplasm / Q000378:metabolism; D009566:Nitrates / Q000378:metabolism*; D009584:Nitrogen / Q000378:metabolism; D010455:Peptides / Q000378:metabolism; D010766:Phosphorylation
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D003470:Culture Media; D009566:Nitrates; D010455:Peptides; D009584:Nitrogen