CLONING AND SEQUENCING OF THE NITRATE TRANSPORT-SYSTEM FROM THE THERMOPHILIC, FILAMENTOUS CYANOBACTERIUM PHORMIDIUM-LAMINOSUM - COMPARATIVE-ANALYSIS WITH THE HOMOLOGOUS SYSTEM FROM SYNECHOCOCCUS SP PCC-7942

A genomic region from the filamentous, thermophilic non-N-2-fixing cyanobacterium Phormidium laminosum was cloned and sequenced. It includes the nitrite reductase gene (nirA) and three other genes (nrtA, B and C) located downstream of nirA, which are related to the nitrate transport system on the basis of a comparison with the homologous system from Synechococcus sp. PCC 7942. No additional nitrate assimilation-related genes were identified in about 5 kb sequenced downstream of nrtC. All four genes are arranged as an operon with a promoter-like region upstream of the nirA gene. Transcripts of these nitrate assimilation genes accumulated after long periods of nitrogen starvation. This operon also contains inverted repeat sequences in the intercistronic regions which might be involved in mRNA processing or stability.