Structural features of multiple nifH-like sequences and very biased codon usage in nitrogenase genes of Clostridium pasteurianum

Abstract

The structural gene (nifH1) encoding the nitrogenase iron protein of Clostridium pasteurianum has been cloned and sequenced. It is located on a 4-kilobase EcoRI fragment (cloned into pBR325) that also contains a portion of nifD and another nifH-like sequence (nifH2). C. pasteurianum nifH1 encodes a polypeptide (273 amino acids) identical to that of the isolated iron protein, indicating that the smaller size of the C. pasteurianum iron protein does not result from posttranslational processing. The 5' flanking region of nifH1 or nifH2 does not contain the nif promoter sequences found in several gram-negative bacteria. Instead, a sequence resembling the Escherichia coli consensus promoter (TTGACA-N17-TATAAT) is present before C. pasteurianum nifH2, and a TATAAT sequence is present before C pasteurianum nifH1. Codon usage in nifH1, nifH2, and nifD (partial) is very biased. A preference for A or U in the third position of the codons is seen. nifH2 could encode a protein of 272 amino acid residues, which differs from the iron protein (nifH1 product) in 23 amino acid residues (8%). Another nifH-like sequence (nifH3) is located on a nonadjacent EcoRI fragment and has been partially sequenced. C. pasteurianum nifH2 and nifH3 may encode proteins having several amino acids that are conserved in other proteins but not in C. pasteurianum iron protein, suggesting a possible role for the multiple nifH-like sequences of C. pasteurianum in the evolution of nifH. Among the nine sequenced iron proteins, only the C. pasteurianum protein lacks a conserved lysine residue which is near the extended C terminus of the other iron proteins. The absence of this positive charge in the C. pasteurianum iron protein might affect the cross-reactivity of the protein in heterologous systems.