Temperature sensitivity of nitrogen fixation in Azospirillum spp.

Abstract

Azospirillum brasilense and Azospirillum lipoferum showed optimum acetylene-reducing activity at 25 and 30 °C, respectively, although both the bacteria grew optimally at 35 °C. Azospirillum halopraeferens displayed optimum growth and acetylene-reducing activity at 40–41 °C. Our experiments indicated that expression of nif genes was generally more sensitive to temperature than was nitrogenase activity. The NifA-dependent activation of a heterologous nifH–lacZ fusion was used to assess the impact of temperature on native NifA activity of A. brasilense and A. lipoferum. Maximum NifA activity was observed at 25 °C in A. brasilense and at 30 °C in A. lipoferum. Key words: temperature, nitrogen fixation, nifH–lacZ fusion, NifA activity, Azospirillum.