Abstract
To understand the molecular events involved in the reduction of selenite to non-toxic elemental selenium, 4000 clones of Ralstonia
metallidurans CH34 were produced by random Tn5 transposon integration mutagenesis. Eight mutants were able to resist up to 15 mM
selenite while theMIC for the wild-type strain was estimated as 4–6 mM selenite. The identification of the disrupted genes was carried out by
Southern blot analysis and inverse PCR. The three resistant mutants containing only one insertion were further characterized. Tn5 disrupted
a gene that encoded a protein which was closely related to proteins of the DedA family. This family represents a group of integral membrane
proteins with completely unknown functions. Phenotypic characterization of the dedA mutants and selenite consumption experiments strongly
suggest that DedA is involved in the uptake of selenite.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 367-374 |
Journal | Research in Microbiology |
Volume | 156 |
State | Published - Feb 2005 |