Cohesive ends of 16-3, a temperate phage of Rhizobium meliloti 41, have been identified as 10-base-long, 3'-protruding complementary G/C-rich sequences. terS and terL encode the two subunits of 16-3 terminase. Significant homologies were detected among the terminase subunits of phage 16-3 and other phages from various ecosystems.

Quorum sensing is a cell density-dependent communication system of bacteria relying on autoinducer molecules. During the analysis of the post-transcriptional regulation of quorum sensing in the nitrogen fixing plant symbiont Sinorhizobium meliloti, we predicted and verified a direct interaction between the 5'-UTR of sinI mRNA encoding the autoinducer synthase and a small RNA (sRNA), which we na...

several attributes that make it attractive as a model species. It has a short seed-to-seed generation time and abundant seed set. Extensive collections of M. truncatula ecotypes — natural geographic variants — exist, and mutant collections are readily produced by physical (fast neutron) and transposonmediated mutagenesis. M. truncatula is also host to Sinorhizobium meliloti, a rhizobium species...

Two Sinorhizobium meliloti strains (1021 and NitR) were used for inoculation of alfalfa plants to study nitrogen assimilation under nutrient deficiency conditions in hydroponics experiments. The wild type Sinorhizobium meliloti 1021 was compared with a mutant strain – S. meliloti NitR. NitR protein was found to be a regulator of S. meliloti hmgA expression under nitrogen deprivation conditions,...

Inorganic pyrophosphate-dependent phosphofructokinase (PP(i)-PFK) of the amitochondriate eukaryote Mastigamoeba balamuthi was sequenced and showed about 60% identity to PP(i)-PFKs from two eubacteria, Propionibacterium freudenreichii and Sinorhizobium meliloti. These gene products represent a newly recognized lineage of PFKs. All four lineages of group II PFKs, as defined by phylogenetic analys...

Cells of Sinorhizobium meliloti WSM419 showed an adaptive acid-tolerance response when grown at pH 5.8 instead of pH 7.0. Increasing concentrations of calcium in the exposure medium significantly decreased the death rate of WSM419 cells under conditions of acid stress (pH 4.0). The effect of calcium on survival at pH 4.0 however, appears unconnected to exopolysaccharide (EPS), since a strain wi...

Group II introns are self-splicing catalytic RNAs that probably originated in bacteria and act as mobile retroelements. The dispersal and dynamics of group II intron spread within a bacterial genome are thought to follow a selection-driven extinction model. Likewise, various studies on the evolution of group II introns have suggested that they are evolving toward an inactive form by fragmentati...

The implementation of beneficial microorganisms for plant protection has a long history. Many rhizobia bacteria are able to influence the immune system of host plants by inducing resistance towards pathogenic microorganisms. In this report, we present a translational approach in which we demonstrate the resistance-inducing effect of Ensifer meliloti (Sinorhizobium meliloti) on crop plants that ...

Resting cell assay and soil microcosms were set up to investigate the biodegradation capability and metabolic intermediate of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) by a rhizobial strain Sinorhizobium meliloti. Biodegradation was observed immediately after 2,4,4'-TCB was supplied as a sole source of carbon and energy in liquid cultures. After 6 days, the percent biodegradation of 2,4,4'-TCB was 77.4%...