Ecology, Environment and Conservation Paper

OVEREXPRESSION OF PYRROLOQUINOLINE QUINONE IN MESORHIZOBIUM LOTI FOR MINERAL PHOSPHATE SOLUBILIZATION

Ankit H. Patel, Gunjankumar Mehta, Sonal Shah and Praveena Bhandari

Abstract

The constructed plasmid which encodes the Pyrroloquinoline quinine (PQQ), a gene act as co-enzyme for Glucose dehydrogenase enzyme was transformed and expressed in Escherichia coli and recombinant plasmid was transferred in Mesorhizobium loti by conjugation method. All the conjugates were confirmed by Restriction digestion method. Clones containing recombinant plasmids produced higher clearing halos on pikovaskay’s agar plate with insoluble phosphate as the unique (P) source, in comparison with those of strains without plasmids, demonstrating the heterologous expression of the PQQ gene in the Rhizobium species. By the expression of PQQ co-enzyme in Mesorhizobium loti it is possible to produce gluconic acid and take dual benefits of the Rhizobium species for nitrogen fixation and phosphate solubilization in agriculture crops.