Disease relevance of nirA

• The position of these residues relative to the [4Fe4S]-cluster as the primary electron acceptor was tentatively localized in a three dimensional structure of the sulfite reductase from E. coli, which is closest related to nitrite reductase among the proteins with known tertiary structure [1].
• Identification of amino acid residues of nitrite reductase from Anabaena sp. PCC 7120 involved in ferredoxin binding [1].
• Co-expression of the cysG gene encoding siroheme synthase of Salmonella typhimurium increased the amount of soluble, active nitrite reductase four fold [1].

High impact information on nirA

• In the ntcA mutant, in response to removal of ammonium, accumulation of mRNA of the genes encoding nitrogenase (nifHDK), nitrite reductase (nir, the first gene of the nitrate assimilation operon), and glutamine synthetase (glnA) was not observed [2].
• In the mutant, under derepression conditions, nir operon mRNA (as determined by RNA-DNA hybridization and primer extension analysis) and enzymes of the nitrate reduction system (i.e., nitrate reductase and nitrite reductase) were expressed at low or undetectable levels [3].
• The genes nir, encoding nitrite reductase, and nrtABC, encoding elements of a nitrate permease, have been cloned [4].

References