Atkinson E M, Long S R
Department of Biological Sciences, Stanford University, CA 94305-5020.
Mol Plant Microbe Interact. 1992 Sep-Oct;5(5):439-42. doi: 10.1094/mpmi-5-439.
Rhizobium bacteria form nitrogen-fixing nodules on legume roots. As part of the nodulation process, they secrete Nod factors that are beta-1,4-linked oligomers of N-acetylglucosamine. These factors depend on nodulation (nod) genes, but most aspects of factor synthesis are not yet known. We show here that one gene, nodC, shows striking similarity to genes encoding proteins known to be involved in polysaccharide synthesis in yeast and bacteria, specifically chitin and cellulose synthases, as well as a protein with unknown function in Xenopus embryos, DG42. This similarity is consistent with a role for the NodC protein in the formation of the beta-1,4-linkage in Nod factors.
根瘤菌在豆科植物根部形成固氮根瘤。作为结瘤过程的一部分，它们分泌Nod因子，这些因子是N-乙酰葡糖胺的β-1,4-连接的寡聚物。这些因子依赖于结瘤（nod）基因，但因子合成的大多数方面尚不清楚。我们在此表明，一个基因nodC与编码已知参与酵母和细菌多糖合成的蛋白质的基因具有惊人的相似性，特别是几丁质和纤维素合酶，以及非洲爪蟾胚胎中功能未知的一种蛋白质DG42。这种相似性与NodC蛋白在Nod因子中β-1,4-连接形成中的作用一致。
