Nitrogenase reductase: A functional multigene family in Rhizobium phaseoli.

The complete coding sequence of the nitrogenase reductase gene (nifH) is present in three different regions of a Rhizobium phaseoli symbiotic plasmid. Homology between two of the regions containing nifH coding sequences extends over 5 kilobases. These in turn share 1.3 kilobases of homology with the third region. The nucleotide sequences of the three nitrogenase reductase genes were found to be identical. Site-directed insertion mutagenesis indicated that none of the three genes is indispensable for nitrogen fixation during symbiosis with Phaseolus vulgaris. This implies that at least two of the reiterated genes can be functionally expressed.