Genetically modified nitrogen fixing bacteria and uses thereof

Abstract

A genetically modified bacterium for excreting fixed nitrogen (in the form of ammonia) is disclosed. The bacterium can be made by deleting at least a portion of the nifL gene of a diazotrophic γ-proteobacterium, and inserting a promoter sequence into the diazotrophic γ-proteobacterium genome that is placed and oriented to direct transcription of the rnf1 gene complex. The resulting genetically modified bacterium excretes ammonia constitutively and at a greater rate than the wild type bacterium, and can be used to make biofertilizers to stimulate plant growth. The biofertilizers may contain a culture of the bacteria, or a co-culture of the bacteria and a mycorrhizal fungus.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.