Characterization of the gene encoding nitrite reductase and the physiological consequences of its expression in the nondenitrifying Rhizobium "hedysari" strain HCNT1.

Rhizobium "hedysari" HCNT1 is an unclassified rhizobium which contains a nitric oxide-producing nitrite reductase but is apparently incapable of coupling the reduction of nitrite to energy conservation. The gene encoding the nitrite reductase, nirK, has been cloned and sequenced and was found to encode a protein closely related to the copper-containing family of nitrite reductases. Unlike other members of this family, nirK expression in HCNT1 is not dependent on the presence of nitrogen oxides, being dependent only on oxygen concentration.