Cloning of the Klebsiella aerogenes nac gene, which encodes a factor required for nitrogen regulation of the histidine utilization (hut) operons in Salmonella typhimurium

The nac (nitrogen assimilation control) gene from Klebsiella aerogenes, cloned in a low-copy-number cloning vector, restored the ability of K. aerogenes nac mutants to activate histidase and repress glutamate dehydrogenase formation in response to nitrogen limitation and to limit the maximum expression of the nac promoter. When present in Salmonella typhimurium, the K. aerogenes nac gene allowed the hut genes to be activated during nitrogen-limited growth. Thus, the nac gene encodes a cytoplasmic factor required for activation of hut expression in S. typhimurium during nitrogen-limited growth.