Identification and characterization of hetA, a gene that acts early in the process of morphological differentiation of heterocysts
10.1128/jb.172.6.3131-3137.1990
Crossref journal-article
American Society for Microbiology
Journal of Bacteriology (235)
Abstract

Envelope polysaccharide is a major early diagnostic of differentiating heterocysts. The mutation in mutant EF116 of Anabaena sp. strain PCC 7120 reduces the cohesiveness of this polysaccharide. A 3.5-kilobase fragment of DNA cloned from the wild type of this Anabaena sp. was previously shown to complement this mutation. We present the nucleotide sequence of a 2,555-base-pair portion of this fragment containing an open reading frame (ORF) of 601 amino acids. Complementation analysis using deletion derivatives of the 3.5-kilobase fragment showed that the gene mutated in EF116, which we designate hetA, lies within this ORF. Transcription of hetA was induced as a result of deprivation for nitrate and yielded a monocistronic mRNA that was present at greatest abundance 7 h after nitrogen stepdown. At that time, proheterocysts could not be distinguished by light microscopy; transcription of nifHD, structural genes of nitrogenase, peaked much later. Situated 3' to hetA are 4 identical repeats of the sequence 5'-TTCAAAA-3' and 12 repeats (10 identical) of the sequence 5'-CCCCAAT-3'. The 12 repeats, present within and near the 5' end of a second ORF, are almost identical to repeats that have been reported to be present in the region between the petC and petA genes of a related cyanobacterium.

Bibliography

Holland, D., & Wolk, C. P. (1990). Identification and characterization of hetA, a gene that acts early in the process of morphological differentiation of heterocysts. Journal of Bacteriology, 172(6), 3131–3137.

Authors 2
  1. D Holland (first)
  2. C P Wolk (additional)
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Dates
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Created 8 years, 9 months ago (Nov. 16, 2016, 6:07 p.m.)
Deposited 4 years, 1 month ago (July 29, 2021, 1:48 p.m.)
Indexed 4 weeks, 2 days ago (Aug. 6, 2025, 8:30 a.m.)
Issued 35 years, 3 months ago (June 1, 1990)
Published 35 years, 3 months ago (June 1, 1990)
Published Print 35 years, 3 months ago (June 1, 1990)
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@article{Holland_1990, title={Identification and characterization of hetA, a gene that acts early in the process of morphological differentiation of heterocysts}, volume={172}, ISSN={1098-5530}, url={http://dx.doi.org/10.1128/jb.172.6.3131-3137.1990}, DOI={10.1128/jb.172.6.3131-3137.1990}, number={6}, journal={Journal of Bacteriology}, publisher={American Society for Microbiology}, author={Holland, D and Wolk, C P}, year={1990}, month=jun, pages={3131–3137} }