The 660 bp region between nodD3 P1 promoter and the following coding region of Rhizobium meliloti has been studied.This region is designated "downstream sequences".It consists of two potential open reading frames,ORF1 and ORF2.Studies on the role of the downstream sequences on the activity of nodD3 P1 with nod D3(P1)-lacZ fusion show that deletion of the sequences containing ORF2 causes the increase of the activity of the fusion; on the contrary,addition of extra copies of ORF2 markedly decreases the activity of the fusion.These results indicate that the product of ORF2 plays a negative role in the expression of nod D3.