ISSN:
1432-072X
Keywords:
Ammonium assimilation
;
Excretion
;
Anabaena azollae
;
Azolla caroliniana
;
Cyanobacteria
;
Glutamine
;
Glutamate formation
;
Nitrogen fixation
;
Symbiosis
Source:
Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
Topics:
Biology
Notes:
Abstract Anabaena azollae was isolated fromAzolla caroliniana by the “gentle roller” method and differential centrifugation. Incubation of suchAnabaena preparations for 10 min with [13N]N2 resulted in the formation of four radioactive compounds; ammonium, glutamine, glutamate and alanine. Ammonium accounted for 66% of the total radioactivity recovered and 58% of the ammonium was in an extracellular fraction. Since essentially no extracellular13N-labeled organic compounds were found, it appears that ammonium is the compound most probably made available toAzolla during dinitrogen-dependent growth of the association. The kinetics of incorporation of exogenous13NH 4 + into glutamine and glutamate were characteristic of a precursor (glutamine)-product (glutamate) relationship and consistent with assimilation by the glutamine synthetase-glutamate synthase pathway. The results of experiments using the glutamine synthetase inhibitor, methionine sulfoximine, the glutamate synthase inhibitor, diazo-oxonorleucine, and increasing the ammonium concentration to greater than 1 mM, provided evidence for assimilation primarily by the glutamine synthetase-glutamate synthase pathway with little or no contribution from biosynthetic glutamate dehydrogenase. While showing that N2 fixation and NH 4 + assimilation were not tightly coupled metabolic processes in symbioticAnabaena, these results reflect a composite picture and do not indicate the extent to which ammonium assimilatory enzymes might be regulated in filaments associated with specific stages in theAzolla-Anabaena developmental profile.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF00693395
Permalink
