Transposon mutagenesis in purple sulfur photosynthetic bacteria: identification of hypF, encoding a protein capable of processing [NiFe] hydrogenases in alpha, beta, and gamma subdivisions of the proteobacteria.

ABSTRACT: A random transposon-based mutagenesis system was optimized for the purple sulfur phototrophic bacterium Thiocapsa roseopersicina BBS. Screening for hydrogenase-deficient phenotypes resulted in the isolation of six independent mutants in a mini-Tn5 library. One of the mutations was in a gene showing high amino acid sequence similarity to HypF proteins in other organisms. Inactivation of hydrogen uptake activity in the hypF-deficient mutant resulted in a dramatic increase in the hydrogen evolution capacity of T. roseopersicina under nitrogen-fixing conditions. This mutant is therefore a promising candidate for use in practical biohydrogen-producing systems. The reconstructed hypF gene was able to complement the hypF-deficient mutant of T. roseopersicina BBS. Heterologous complementation expe

SUBMITTER: Fodor B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC92897 | biostudies-literature | 2001 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature