K31 [33, 34] subtracted free-living Bradyrhizobium

japonicum USDA 110 [35] BMS-907351 nmr intersected nitrogen-fixing plant symbiont Mesorhizobium loti MAFF303099 [36] intersected nitrogen-fixing plant symbiont Rhizobium etli CFN 42 [37] intersected nitrogen-fixing plant symbiont Rhizobium leguminosarum bv. viciae 3841 [38] intersected nitrogen-fixing plant symbiont Sinorhizobium medicae WSM419 [39] intersected nitrogen-fixing plant symbiont Bacterial strains and growth conditions S. meliloti 1021 strains were grown PR-171 cell line at 30°C in either LBMC (Luria Bertani [Miller] medium supplemented with 2.5 mM MgSO4 and 2.5 mM CaCl2), or 1/10 LB-7% sucrose medium, with 1 mM MgSO4 and 0.25 mM CaCl2, or M9 salts-10% sucrose medium, supplemented with 1 μg/mL biotin [40]. Bacterial plates contained 1.5% BactoAgar. Selections against strains carrying the sacB gene in the plasmid pK19mobsac were performed in M9 supplemented with 10% w/v sucrose or 1/10 LB-7% sucrose [41]. Appropriate antibiotics were used at the following concentrations for S. meliloti strains: streptomycin 500 or 1000 μg/mL; neomycin 200 μg/mL.

E. coli strains were grown at 37°C in LB medium [40], with appropriate antibiotics used at the following concentrations: kanamycin 50 μg/mL; chloramphenicol SB431542 price 10 μg/mL. Construction of S. meliloti mutant strains Mutant strains of S. meliloti 1021 with disruptions in ORFs described in Table 2 were constructed by amplifying internal ORF fragments using Phusion polymerase (New England Biolabs, Ipswich, MA, USA) and cloning into the plasmid pJH104, which carries a neomycin/kanamycin

resistance marker (Jeanne Harris, Univ. Vermont, personal communication) [42]. Insertion of the pJH104 plasmid also creates transcriptional fusions to the uidA β-glucuronidase (GUS) gene. Non-disrupting GUS insertions of some ORFs (described Cediranib (AZD2171) in Table 2) were constructed by amplifying the entire ORF or operon and cloning the product into pJH104, and conjugating into S. meliloti. Deletion mutant strains were constructed by amplifying fragments flanking the ORF to be deleted and cloning the fragments into the sacB gene-containing suicide vector pK19mobsac [41]. (Some fragments were initially cloned into pCR-Blunt II-TOPO using the Zero-TOPO-Blunt cloning kit [Invitrogen, San Diego, CA, USA].) Mutant strains are listed in Table 2.