Regulatory and DNA repair genes contribute to the desiccation resistance of Sinorhizobium meliloti Rm1021.

Sinorhizobium meliloti can form a nitrogen-fixing symbiotic relationship with alfalfa after bacteria in the soil infect emerging root hairs of the growing plant. To be successful at this, the bacteria must be able to survive in the soil between periods of active plant growth, including when conditions are dry. The ability of S.

Construction and expression of sugar kinase transcriptional gene fusions by using the Sinorhizobium meliloti ORFeome.

The Sinorhizobium meliloti ORFeome project cloned 6,314 open reading frames (ORFs) into a modified Gateway entry vector system from which the ORFs could be transferred to destination vectors in vivo via bacterial conjugation. In this work, a reporter gene destination vector, pMK2030, was constructed and used to generate ORF-specific transcriptional fusions to beta-glucuronidase (gusA) and green fluorescent protein (gfp) reporter genes. A total of 6,290 ORFs were successfully transferred from the entry vector library into pMK2030.

Phytate as the sole phosphate source for growth of Tetrahymena.

Phytate, the storage form of phosphate in seeds and grains, is a major form of environmental phosphate loading from fertilizer inputs and agricultural runoff. We have investigated the ability of Tetrahymena populations to grow on phytate as their sole phosphate source. Populations grew equally well in chemically defined medium with phosphate and medium in which the phosphate was replaced with phytate in comparable concentrations between 0.