[A system of oligonucleotide primers for amplifying nifH genes from various taxonomic groups of prokaryotes].

Based on the analysis of the nifH gene nucleotide sequences from GenBank, a system of primers was developed that makes it possible to obtain 370- and 470-bp PCR fragments of the nifH gene of nitrogen-fixing bacteria and archaea. The effectiveness of the proposed system for revealing the presence of nifH genes was demonstrated by PCR on the DNA isolated from nitrogen-fixing prokaryotes for which the primary structure of these genes is known and which belong to different taxonomic groups. nifH sequences of nitrogen-fixing prokaryotes of the genera Xanthobacter, Beijerinckia, and Methanosarcina, for which the capacity for nitrogen fixation was demonstrated earlier, but no data existed on the nucleotide composition of these genes, were determined and deposited in GenBank.