Systematic insertion mutagenesis of GntR family transcriptional regulator genes in Sinorhizobium meliloti

GntR-type transcriptional regulators regulate the most diverse biological processes in bacteria. Although GntR-type transcriptional regulators consist of the second largest family of transcriptional regulators in Sinorhizobium meliloti, little is known about their functions. In this study, we investigated 54 putative genes encoding GntR family of transcriptional regulators in S. meliloti Rm1021. Secondary structure analysis of the C-terminal domain of these putative transcriptional regulators indicated that thirty-seven were members of the FadR subfamily, ten of the HutC subfamily and five of the MocR subfamily. The remaining two did not fall into any specific subfamily category, and may form two new subfamilies. The 54 gntR genes were mutagenized by plasmid insertion mutagenesis to investigate their roles. We found that, of the 54 mutants, only the gtrA1 and gtrB1 mutants had slower growth rates and cell maximal yields on both rich medium and minimal medium, and lower cell motility on swarming plate than wild type Rm1021. All mutants, with the exception of gtrA1 and gtrB1, can establish effective symbioses with alfalfa. Plants inoculated with gtrA1 and gtrB1 mutants grew shorter than those inoculated with wild type, and formed relatively smaller, round and light pink nodules, which were mainly located on lateral roots. And there was an abnormal increase in the number of nodules induced by both mutants. These results suggested that the gtrA1 and gtrB1 mutants were symbiotically deficient. Our work presents a global overview of GntR-like transcriptional regulators involved in symbiosis in S. meliloti, and provides new insight into the functions of GntR-like transcriptional regulators.