Mutant of Clostridium pasteurianum that does not fix nitrogen.

A stable, non-nitrogen-fixing mutant of Clostridium pasteurianum W5 was isolated. The mutant has the same growth rate as the wild type on ammonia nitrogen, but is not able to grow on N(2). Cell-free extracts of the derepressed mutant are unable to fix nitrogen, or reduce the alternate substrates of nitrogenase such as cyanide, azide, or acetylene. Recombination with wild-type components from a diethylaminoethyl cellulose column indicates that the mutant contains component II, but is lacking component I activity.