Disease relevance of nodQ1

• We sequenced a small uncharacterized region in the Rhizobium meliloti nod gene cluster downstream of nodQ1 [1].
• The Azospirillum nodQ gene product shares homology with a family of initiation and elongation factors as does the R. meliloti nodQ gene product [2].

High impact information on nodQ1

• Comparison of the primary sequences of CysN and Ef-Tu revealed that CysN has conserved many of the residues integral to the three-dimensional structure important for guanine nucleotide binding in Ef-Tu and RAS. nodP and nodQ, from Rhizobium meliloti, are essential for nodulation in leguminous plants [3].
• Genes corresponding to the two open reading frames identified are designated nodP and nodQ [4].
• Strains mutated or deleted for both copies of nodQ are severely defective in symbiotic phenotypes, but remain prototrophic [5].
• These genes include nodP and nodQ (here termed nodPQ), which encode ATP sulfurylase and APS kinase, enzymes that catalyze the conversion of ATP and SO(4)2- into the activated sulfate form 3'-phosphoadenosine 5'-phosphosulfate (PAPS), an intermediate in cysteine synthesis [5].
• Plasmid pSmeSM11a carries additional copies of the nodulation genes nodP and nodQ that are responsible for Nod factor sulfation [6].

Biological context of nodQ1

• An open reading frame downstream of Rhizobium meliloti nodQ1 shows nucleotide sequence similarity to an Agrobacterium tumefaciens insertion sequence [1].

Associations of nodQ1 with chemical compounds

• In previous work, we have shown that nodP and nodQ encode ATP sulfurylase, which catalyzes the formation of APS (adenosine 5'-phosphosulfate) and PPi [7].

Analytical, diagnostic and therapeutic context of nodQ1

• Common nodABC genes as well as host-specific nodH and nodQ genes were shown recently, using bioassays, to be involved in the production of extracellular Nod signals [8].

References