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Cyanobacterial Nitrogen Assimilation Genes and NtcA-Dependent Control of Gene Expression

  • Chapter
The Phototrophic Prokaryotes

Abstract

The sources of nitrogen more commonly used for the growth of cyanobacteria include ammonium, nitrate, and dinitrogen. Some cyanobacteria are also able to use urea and certain amino acids, but current knowledge on the mechanisms of assimilation of urea and amino acids is rudimentary, especially with regard to the genetic aspects. The presence of ammonium in the culture medium determines repression of the proteins that constitute the assimilatory pathways for alternative nitrogen sources so that cyanobacteria generally assimilate ammonium with preference over other nitrogen sources. In some filamentous cyanobacteria that express the nitrogen fixation machinery in specialized cells called heterocysts, the development of these differentiated cells is also repressed by ammonium. In this article, we shall first summarize our current knowledge, at the genetic level, of the pathways of assimilation of ammonium, nitrate (and nitrite) and dinitrogen in the cyanobacteria and shall then describe what is known about the molecular mechanism underlying repression by ammonium in these organisms. No detailed description of the process of heterocyst development will be presented since this topic is covered in another chapter of this book.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centro de Investigaciones Científicas Isla de la Cartuja, Instituto de Bioquímica Vegetal y Fotosíntesis CSIC-Universidad de Sevilla, Avda. Américo Vespucio s/n, E-41092, Sevilla, Spain

    Enrique Flores, Alicia M. Muro-Pastor & Antonia Herrero

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  1. Enrique Flores
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  2. Alicia M. Muro-Pastor
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria

    Günter A. Peschek , Wolfgang Löffelhardt  & Georg Schmetterer ,  & 

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Flores, E., Muro-Pastor, A.M., Herrero, A. (1999). Cyanobacterial Nitrogen Assimilation Genes and NtcA-Dependent Control of Gene Expression. In: Peschek, G.A., Löffelhardt, W., Schmetterer, G. (eds) The Phototrophic Prokaryotes. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-4827-0_54

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-4827-0_54

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