Abstract
Mutations in the glnA region of the E. coli chromosome due to Mu prophage insertion result in 2 phenotypic classes. One glass is Gln- and does not synthesize glutamine synthetase [L-glutamate:ammonia ligase (ADP-forming), EC 6.3.1.2] under any growth condition. The other class produces a low level of glutamine synthetase under all growth conditions and is uncoupled from the regulatory effects of mutations in the glnF and glnD genes. Complementation analysis demonstrates that these 2 classes of insertions are in different cistrons. A regulatory gene, glnG, tightly linked to glnA, apparently mediates activation and repression of glutamine synthetase synthesis. An analysis of the evidence accumulated to date makes it unlikely that glnG is the only gene in the glnA region involved in the complex system of N regulation.