Structural gene for NAD synthetase in Salmonella typhimurium.

We have identified the structural gene for NAD synthetase, which catalyzes the final metabolic step in NAD biosynthesis. This gene, designated nadE, is located between gdh and nit at 27 min on the Salmonella typhimurium chromosome. Mutants of nadE include those with a temperature-sensitive lethal phenotype; these strains accumulate large internal pools of nicotinic acid adenine dinucleotide, the substrate for NAD synthetase. Native gel electrophoresis experiments suggest that NAD synthetase is a multimeric enzyme of at least two subunits and that subunits from Escherichia coli and S. typhimurium interact to form an active heteromultimer.