The transcriptome of Klebsiella grimontii M5a1 during nitrogen fixation. Klebsiella grimontii strain:M5aI

Klebsiella grimontii M5a1 (previously Klebsiella pneumonia M5a1) is a principle model organism for free-living biological nitrogen fixation. This strain has been used for decades in the characterisation of nitrogenase function and the genetic regulation of nitrogen fixation physiology. Currently it represents a key model for synthetic biology and biotechnology approaches. This project involves a multi-omics approach to modelling nitrogen physiology in Klebsiella grimontii M5a1, in order to inform rational genetic engineering for improved nitrogen fixation activity. Specifically we study the transition from nitrogen replete (high NH4Cl) to nitrogen starved (NH4Cl run-out) conditions, the latter which induce nif gene expression and synthesis of the nitrogenase enzyme. Specifically, this project involves the sequencing and annotation of the Klebsiella grimontii M5a1 genome, in advance of mapping of RNA-sequencing (Illumina) reads. The transcriptome is compared between nitrogen replete and nitrogen fixing conditions using differential gene expression (DEG) analysis.