Stable chromosomal integration of the entire nitrogen fixation gene cluster from Klebsiella pneumoniae in yeast.

A bacterial plasmid containing the entire nitrogen fixation (nif) gene cluster (consisting of at least 15 genes) from Klebsiella pneumoniae was used in conjunction with an Escherichia coli-yeast shuttle plasmid containing the yeast his4 gene cluster to cotransform a his4- recipient strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Of 87 histidine-independent clones screened, 2 contained nif DNA. Restriction and hybridization analyses showed that two copies of the nif plasmid (46 kilobases each) are integrated in tandem in the recipient chromosome by recombination between homologous regions in the transforming plasmids. Chromosomal integration was also verified by tetrad analysis, showing that the nif DNA behaved in meiosis like a Mendelian element. During mitotic growth, one of the two copies of the nif region is frequently lost. The remaining copy of nif is stable, even after 40 generations in nonselective medium.