The PCR product was cloned as a HindIII fragment into pRK7813 and the resultant construct was named pMA157. This construct was introduced

into Rm11430 by triparental conjugation using MT616 as the mobilizer strain. Growth Phenotype of Rm11430 and ability to find more survive long-term carbon starvation Mutants of phaC, phaB, and bdhA all demonstrate impaired growth on PHB cycle intermediates [23, 24]. To determine if a lesion in phaZ resulted in a similar impairment in Volasertib nmr the capacity of S. meliloti to utilize PHB Cycle intermediates, the growth of Rm11430 was compared to that of Rm1021, Rm11105 [23], Rm11107 [23] and Rm11347 [24] on TY, YMA, and minimal media containing either 15 mM acetate (A), acetoacetate (AA) or D-3-hydroxybutyrate (HB) as sole carbon sources. No difference in growth phenotype was observed between Rm11430 and Rm1021 (Table 1). Table 1 Growth Phenotypes of S. meliloti PHB Cycle Mutants Strain Relevant Characteristics YMA Phenotype Carbon Source Utilization       Glucose

D-3-HB Acetate AA Rm1021 wild-type Mucoid + + + + Rm11105 phaC::Tn5 Dry + – + – Rm11107 bdhA::Tn5 Mucoid + – + + Rm11347 phaBΩ Dry + – + – Rm11430 phaZΩSmSp Mucoid + + + EX 527 chemical structure + The ability of the phaZ mutant strain to withstand long-term carbon starvation was tested, relative to both Rm1021 and Rm11105, by incubation for 4 weeks in M9 liquid medium with no added carbon source. Cells were grown to late-log in YMB and washed twice in M9. A 1:50 dilution was used to inoculate 75 ml of M9 salts. Starting cfu/ml was determined immediately following inoculation by serial dilution of a 1 ml aliquot. Starting cultures

typically contained approximately 2 × 105 cfu/ml. These starting values were each given a relative value of 1. 1 ml samples were removed at 7 day intervals and serial dilutions were used to determine cfu/ml. Values presented are the averages of 3 independent cultures. The data in Figure. 1 show that the ability to synthesize and/or break down PHB has a significant impact on long-term survival in the absence of an exogenous carbon source. The wild-type strain Rm1021 is capable of increasing cell density during the early stages of starvation, presumably by degrading readily mobilizable intracellular carbon stores, a pattern CHIR-99021 nmr which is not seen in either the phaZ or phaC mutants. Figure 1 Viable cell counts of S. meliloti PHB mutants following incubation in minimal media with no exogenous carbon source added. Values presented are the average of three independent cultures. Rm1021 cells are able to maintain viability for almost 4 weeks following transition to a carbon-free environment. In contrast, both Rm11105 and Rm11430 demonstrate a significant decrease in viability under the same conditions. PHB accumulation To assess the effect of the phaZ lesion on PHB content in Rm11430, total PHB accumulation of stationary-phase cells was measured and compared to the wild-type strain Rm1021.