Tn5 mutagenesis and insertion replacement in Azotobacter vinelandii

Genomic Manipulations of the Diazotroph Azotobacter vinelandii

The biological reduction of nitrogen gas to ammonia is limited to a select group of nitrogen-fixing prokaryotes. While nitrogenase is the catalyst of nitrogen fixation in these biological systems, a consortium of additional gene products is required for the synthesis, activation, and catalytic competency of this oxygen-sensitive metalloenzyme. Thus, the biochemical complexity of this process often requires functional studies and isolation of gene products from the native nitrogen-fixing organisms. The strict aerobe Azotobacter vinelandii is the best-studied model bacterium among diazotrophs. This chapter provides a description of procedures for targeted genomic manipulation and isolation of A. vinelandii strains. These methods have enabled identification and characterization of gene products with roles in nitrogen fixation and other related aspects of metabolism. The ability to modify and control expression levels of targeted sequences provides a biotechnological tool to uncover molecular details associated with nitrogen fixation, as well as to exploit this model system as a host for expression of oxygen-sensitive proteins.

Azotobacter vinelandii: the source of 100 years of discoveries and many more to come

Azotobacter vinelandii has been studied for over 100 years since its discovery as an aerobic nitrogen-fixing organism. This species has proved useful for the study of many different biological systems, including enzyme kinetics and the genetic code. It has been especially useful in working out the structures and mechanisms of different nitrogenase enzymes, how they can function in oxic environments and the interactions of nitrogen fixation with other aspects of metabolism. Interest in studying A. vinelandii has waned in recent decades, but this bacterium still possesses great potential for new discoveries in many fields and commercial applications. The species is of interest for research because of its genetic pliability and natural competence. Its features of particular interest to industry are its ability to produce multiple valuable polymers - bioplastic and alginate in particular; its nitrogen-fixing prowess, which could reduce the need for synthetic fertilizer in agriculture and industrial fermentations, via coculture; its production of potentially useful enzymes and metabolic pathways; and even its biofuel production abilities. This review summarizes the history and potential for future research using this versatile microbe.

Transposable Bacteriophages as Genetic Tools

Phage Mu is the paradigm of a growing family of bacteriophages that infect a wide range of bacterial species and replicate their genome by replicative transposition. This molecular process, which is used by other mobile genetic elements to move within genomes, involves the profound rearrangement of the host genome [chromosome(s) and plasmid(s)] and can be exploited for the genetic analysis of the host bacteria and the in vivo cloning of host genes. In this chapter we review Mu-derived constructs that optimize the phage as a series of genetic tools that could inspire the development of similarly efficient tools from other transposable phages for a large spectrum of bacteria.

Molecular biology and genetic engineering in nitrogen fixation

Biological nitrogen fixation is a complex and tightly regulated process limited to a group of prokaryotic species known as diazotrophs. Among well-studied diazotrophs, Azotobacter vinelandii is the best studied for its convenience of aerobic growth, its high levels of nitrogenase expression, and its genetic tractability. This chapter includes protocols and strategies in the molecular biology and genetic engineering of A. vinelandii that have been used as valuable tools for advancing studies on the biosynthesis, mechanism, and regulation of nitrogen fixation.

recB recJ mutants of Salmonella typhimurium are deficient in transductional recombination, DNA repair and plasmid maintenance

recB recJ mutants of Salmonella typhimurium are deficient in transduction of chromosomal markers and ColE1-derived plasmids, and also in the maintenance of ColE1 and F plasmids. Plasmid instability is less severe in recD recJ strains; ColE1 plasmid DNA preparations from these strains show an increased yield of high molecular weight (HMW) linear multimers and a concomitant reduction in plasmid monomers compared to the wild type. Plasmids remain unstable in recA recD recJ mutants; since these do not produce HMW linear concatemers, we propose that a decrease in monomer production leads to plasmid instability. recB recJ strains also display decreased viability, a component of which may be related to their deficiency in DNA repair. In contrast to their severe defects in recombination, DNA repair and plasmid maintenance, recB recJ mutants of S. typhimurium behave similarly to the wild type in the segregation of chromosome duplications. The latter observation suggests that neither RecBCD nor RecJ functions are required for chromosomal recombination events that do not involve the use of free ends as recombination substrates.

Changes of ploidy during the Azotobacter vinelandii growth cycle

The size of the Azotobacter vinelandii chromosome is approximately 4,700 kb, as calculated by pulsed-field electrophoretic separation of fragments digested with the rarely cutting endonucleases SpeI and SwaI. Surveys of DNA content per cell by flow cytometry indicated the existence of ploidy changes during the A. vinelandii growth cycle in rich medium. Early-exponential-phase cells have a ploidy level similar to that of Escherichia coli or Salmonella typhimurium (probably ca. four chromosomes per cell), but a continuous increase of DNA content per cell is observed during growth. Late-exponential-phase cells may contain > 40 chromosomes per cell, while cells in the early stationary stage may contain > 80 chromosomes per cell. In late-stationary-phase cultures, the DNA content per cell is even higher, probably over 100 chromosome equivalents per cell. A dramatic change is observed in old stationary-phase cultures, when the population of highly polyploid bacteria segregates cells with low ploidy. The DNA content of the latter cells resembles that of cysts, suggesting that the process may reflect the onset of cyst differentiation. Cells with low ploidy are also formed when old stationary-phase cultures are diluted into fresh medium. Addition of rifampin to exponential-phase cultures causes a rapid increase in DNA content, indicating that A. vinelandii initiates multiple rounds of chromosome replication per cell division. Growth in minimal medium does not result in the spectacular changes of ploidy observed during rapid growth; this observation suggests that the polyploidy of A. vinelandii may not exist outside the laboratory.