Genetic mapping of the chromosome of the cyanobacterium, Anabaena variabilis. Proximity of the structural genes for nitrogenase and ribulose-bisphosphate carboxylase.

A cosmid library of DNA from the chromosome of the nitrogen-fixing cyanobacterium, Anabaena variabilis, has been organized into about 40 linkage groups on the basis of cosmid-cosmid hybridization. Nitrogenase and ribulose-bisphosphate carboxylase are protein complexes that are, respectively, active in heterocysts and absent from vegetative cells, and active in vegetative cells and absent from heterocysts. The structural genes for the proteins of these two complexes are found to be in close proximity within one of the linkage groups. Other genes have also been tentatively localized on the basis of heterologous hybridization. Possible methods for linking the defined linkage groups are discussed.