Disease relevance of nifJ

• The nifJ gene in Anabaena 7120 was inactivated by chromosomal interruption [1].
• The site of the Anabaena 7120 heptamers in the nifJ genes of other filamentous cyanobacteria contains a surprising diversity of repeated sequences, both octamers and heptamers [1].
• One particular stretch of the Anabaena 7120 nifJ gene encodes 12 aa with no complementary matches in the Klebsiella protein [1].
• These findings are corroborated by luciferase reporter gene analysis of nifJ in Synechococcus sp. PCC 7942 [2].
• The completely sequenced genomes of the unicellular Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 and the heterocystous Anabaena sp. PCC 7120 and Nostoc punctiforme revealed the existence of one PFO (encoded by nifJ) in Synechocystis 6803 and N. punctiforme but two different PFOs, encoded by nifJ1 and nifJ2, in Anabaena [2].

High impact information on nifJ

• The nifJ gene of Anabaena 7120, isolated from a cosmid bank, was found to contain an open reading frame encoding a 1197-aa protein [1].
• The nifJ gene of Klebsiella pneumoniae encodes an oxidoreductase required for the transfer of electrons from pyruvate to flavodoxin, which reduces nitrogenase [1].

Analytical, diagnostic and therapeutic context of nifJ

• Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) experiments show that nifJ is transcribed in the presence of saturating iron concentrations in aerobically grown cells of the unicellular Synechococcus sp. PCC 6301 and Synechocystis 6803 [2].

References