Transposon Tn5-induced mutagenesis of Rhizobium japonicum yielding a wide variety of mutants

Abstract

When the 'suicide' vector pSUP1011, which carries transposon Tn5 (Km(r)), was introduced into Rhizobium japonicum USDA 110, kanamycin-resistant (Km(r)) colonies were detected at a frequency (4.2 x 10-6) ca. 30 times greater than the spontaneous kanamycin resistance frequency (1.4 x 10-7). Ten thousand Km(r) mutants were isolated and tested for nutritional auxotrophy. Auxotrophs were detected at a frequency of 0.5%. The following classes of auxotrophs were identified: adenine- (three), histidine- (three), glutamate- (five), adenine plus thiamine- (nine), uracil- (three), pantothenic acid- (one), tryptophan- (three), and methionine- (three). Mutants blocked in symbiotic nitrogen fixation (Fix-) were also identified at a frequency of 3%. The glutamate auxotrophs were studied in more detail, and all five showed an altered expression of nitrogenase activity in free-living cultures.