Disrupting the ure1 operon causes loss of urease activity, decreased resistance to low pH killing in vitro and decreased pathogen survival when inoculated in BALB/c mice by gavage. 2 H(+) + H2O + urea = CO2 + 2 NH4(+) Nitrogen metabolism; urea degradation; CO(2) and NH(3) from urea (urease route): step 1/1. Heterotrimer of UreA (gamma), UreB (beta) and UreC (alpha) subunits. Three heterotrimers associate to form the active enzyme. Belongs to the urease beta subunit family.