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Transfer of Nitrogen Fixation ( nif ) Genes to Non‐diazotrophic Hosts
Author(s) -
Li Qin,
Chen Sanfeng
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
chembiochem
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.05
H-Index - 126
eISSN - 1439-7633
pISSN - 1439-4227
DOI - 10.1002/cbic.201900784
Subject(s) - diazotroph , nitrogen fixation , biology , nitrogenase , bacteria , synthetic biology , klebsiella oxytoca , paenibacillus polymyxa , biofertilizer , azotobacter vinelandii , microorganism , botany , escherichia coli , gene , biochemistry , computational biology , genetics , klebsiella pneumoniae
Abstract Nitrogen is one of the most important nutrients for plant growth. To enhance crop productivity, chemical nitrogen fertilizer is commonly applied in agriculture. Biological nitrogen fixation, the conversion of atmospheric N 2 to NH 3 , is an important source of nitrogen input in agriculture and represents a promising substitute for chemical nitrogen fertilizers. However, nitrogen fixation is only sporadically distributed within bacteria and archaea (diazotrophs). Thus, many biologists hope to reconstitute a nitrogenase biosynthetic pathway in a eukaryotic host, with the final aim of developing N 2 ‐fixing cereal crops. With the advent of synthetic biology and a deep understanding of the fundamental genetic determinants necessary to sustain nitrogen fixation in bacteria, much progress has been made toward this goal. Transfer of native and refactored nif (nitrogen fixation) genes to non‐diazotrophs has been attempted in model bacteria, yeast, and plants. Specifically, nif genes from Klebsiella oxytoca , Azotobacter vinelandii , and Paenibacillus polymyxa have been successfully transferred and expressed in Escherichia coli , Saccharomyces cerevisiae , and even in the tobacco plant. These advances have laid the groundwork to enable cereal crops to “fix” nitrogen themselves to sustain their growth and yield.