The roles of the nitrate reductase NarGHJI, the nitrite reductase NirBD and the response regulator GInR in nitrate assimilation of Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

The article presents a study on the molecular mechanism of nitrate assimilation in Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Methods employed in the study involved several factors including testing for growth on nitrate, nitrite or ammonium, isolation and complementation of Mycobacterium smegmatis mutants and mapping of the corresponding mutations, and accumulation of nitrite. Findings implied that NarGHJI and NirBD of Mycobacterium tuberculosis intercede the assimilatory reduction of nitrate and nitrite respectively and that GInR functions as a transcriptional stimulant of nirBD.