Genetically amenable nonpathogenic nitrogen-fixing enterobacterium.. Klebsiella michiganensis str. M5al substr. VJSK009

Klebsiella oxytoca strain M5al VJSK009. This strain was isolated in the early 1950's from a 2-3 butanediol fermentation. It was chosen for further studies on dinitrogen fixation based on the small amount of capsular gum present, which makes it easier to handle. This strain proved amenable to genetic analysis by methods originally developed with Escherichia coli, and therefore became the organism of choice for understanding the molecular genetics of dinitrogen fixation. This strain is prototrophic, and grows well in defined media with a variety of nitrogen sources including nitrate, nitrite and dinitrogen. .