Joseph C M, Meeks J C
J Bacteriol. 1987 Jun;169(6):2471-5. doi: 10.1128/jb.169.6.2471-2475.1987.
A characteristic of N2-fixing cyanobacteria in symbiotic associations appears to be release of N2-derived NH4+. The specific activity of the primary ammonium-assimilating enzyme, glutamine synthetase (GS), was found to be three- to fourfold lower in Nostoc sp. strain 7801 grown in symbiotic association with the bryophyte Anthoceros punctatus than in free-living Nostoc sp. strain 7801. Quantitative immunological assays with antisera against GS purified from Nostoc sp. strain 7801 and from Escherichia coli indicated that similar amounts of the GS protein were present in symbiotic (50 micrograms mg-1) and free-living (68 micrograms mg-1) cultures. The conclusion from these experiments is that GS is regulated by a posttranslational mechanism in Anthoceros-associated Nostoc sp. strain 7801. However, the results of comparative catalytic and immunological experiments between N2- and NH4+-grown free-living Nostoc sp. strain 7801 implied control of GS synthesis. A correlation was not observed between the level of GS expression and the extent of symbiotic heterocyst differentiation in Nostoc sp. strain 7801 associated with A. punctatus.
共生联合体中固氮蓝细菌的一个特征似乎是释放源自N₂的NH₄⁺。在与苔藓植物斑点角苔共生生长的 Nostoc sp. 菌株7801中,初级铵同化酶谷氨酰胺合成酶(GS)的比活性比自由生活的 Nostoc sp. 菌株7801低三到四倍。用从 Nostoc sp. 菌株7801和大肠杆菌中纯化的GS抗血清进行的定量免疫分析表明,共生培养物(50微克/毫克)和自由生活培养物(68微克/毫克)中存在相似量的GS蛋白。这些实验的结论是,在与角苔相关的 Nostoc sp. 菌株7801中,GS是通过翻译后机制进行调节的。然而,在以N₂和NH₄⁺为氮源生长的自由生活的 Nostoc sp. 菌株7801之间进行的比较催化和免疫实验结果暗示了GS合成的调控。在与斑点角苔相关的 Nostoc sp. 菌株7801中,未观察到GS表达水平与共生异形胞分化程度之间的相关性。