The narK gene product participates in nitrate transport induced in Escherichia coli nitrate‐respiring cells

Abstract
The nucleotide sequence of the Escherichia coli narK gene, which is located in the upstream region of the narCHJI operon, was determined. The narK gene encodes a very hydrophobic protein with 463 amino acid residues (M r 49 693). A narK deletion mutant, under conditions for the induction of nitrate respiration, was unable to perform nitrate transport. Loss of transport activity was recovered by transforming the mutant with a narK + plasmid. Thus, we conclude that the narK gene encodes a transmembrane protein participating in nitrate transport. In the narK promoter region, we defined a unique sequence that we designate as a ‘nitrate box’, functioning as a putative NarL-binding site, in addition to the consensus sequence of the ‘anaero-box’.

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