Open AccessThe NII2 gene of Hansenula polymorpha is involved in nitrite assimilation
Author(s) -
Serrani Federica,
Berardi Enrico
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
fems yeast research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.991
H-Index - 92
eISSN - 1567-1364
pISSN - 1567-1356
DOI - 10.1016/j.femsyr.2005.06.002
Subject(s) - biology , saccharomyces cerevisiae , gene , nitrite , mutant , biochemistry , yeast , nitrate , nitrogen assimilation , amino acid , genetics , microbiology and biotechnology , ecology
To establish a basis for genetic and molecular studies of nitrite assimilation in the methylotrophic yeast Hansenula polymorpha , we isolated and characterised six nitrite‐negative mutants still capable of growing on nitrate. Gene isolation work yielded the NII2 gene, encoding a membrane protein homologous to the Saccharomyces cerevisiae Pho86p. Sequence analysis revealed an ORF of 860 bp encoding a 286‐amino‐acid protein with a predicted molecular mass of 32.8 kDa. This protein is shorter than its S. cerevisiae homologue, and is predicted to lack an ER‐retention signal. Cell suspension work revealed that the null mutant is unable to take up nitrite from the medium.