Carbohydrate metabolism and transport in Bacillus subtilis. A study of ctr mutations

How phosphotransferase system-related protein phosphorylation regulates carbohydrate metabolism in bacteria

The phosphoenolpyruvate(PEP):carbohydrate phosphotransferase system (PTS) is found only in bacteria, where it catalyzes the transport and phosphorylation of numerous monosaccharides, disaccharides, amino sugars, polyols, and other sugar derivatives. To carry out its catalytic function in sugar transport and phosphorylation, the PTS uses PEP as an energy source and phosphoryl donor. The phosphoryl group of PEP is usually transferred via four distinct proteins (domains) to the transported sugar bound to the respective membrane component(s) (EIIC and EIID) of the PTS. The organization of the PTS as a four-step phosphoryl transfer system, in which all P derivatives exhibit similar energy (phosphorylation occurs at histidyl or cysteyl residues), is surprising, as a single protein (or domain) coupling energy transfer and sugar phosphorylation would be sufficient for PTS function. A possible explanation for the complexity of the PTS was provided by the discovery that the PTS also carries out numerous regulatory functions. Depending on their phosphorylation state, the four proteins (domains) forming the PTS phosphorylation cascade (EI, HPr, EIIA, and EIIB) can phosphorylate or interact with numerous non-PTS proteins and thereby regulate their activity. In addition, in certain bacteria, one of the PTS components (HPr) is phosphorylated by ATP at a seryl residue, which increases the complexity of PTS-mediated regulation. In this review, we try to summarize the known protein phosphorylation-related regulatory functions of the PTS. As we shall see, the PTS regulation network not only controls carbohydrate uptake and metabolism but also interferes with the utilization of nitrogen and phosphorus and the virulence of certain pathogens.

Identification of the structural gene of the PEP-phosphotransferase enzyme I in Bacillus subtilis Marburg

A thermosensitive mutation pt8I1 in the gene coding for the Enzyme I of the PEP-phosphotransferase system pathway has been isolated. The mutant enzyme was shown to be sensitive to high temperature, but this effect is dependent on the ionic strength. The ptsI1 mutation was shown to belong to the previously described ctr locus. Following Lin (1970) it is proposed to retain the symbole ptsI for this locus.

Molecular cloning and analysis of the ptsHI operon in Lactobacillus sake

The ptsH and ptsI genes of Lactobacillus sake, encoding the general enzymes of the phosphoenolpyruvate: carbohydrate phosphotransferase system (PTS), were cloned and sequenced. HPr (88 amino acids), encoded by ptsH, and enzyme I (574 amino acids), encoded by ptsI, are homologous to the corresponding known enzymes of other bacteria. Nucleotide sequence and mRNA analysis showed that the two genes are cotranscribed in a large transcript encoding both HPr and enzyme I. The transcription of ptsHI was shown to be independent of the carbon source. Four ptsI mutants were constructed by single-crossover recombination. For all mutants, growth on PTS carbohydrates was abolished. Surprisingly, the growth rates of mutants on ribose and arabinose, two carbohydrates which are not transported by the PTS, were accelerated. This unexpected phenotype suggests that the PTS negatively controls ribose and arabinose utilization in L. sake by a mechanism different from the regulation involving HPr described for other gram-positive bacteria.

Cloning and sequencing of two enterococcal glpK genes and regulation of the encoded glycerol kinases by phosphoenolpyruvate-dependent, phosphotransferase system-catalyzed phosphorylation of a single histidyl residue

The glpK genes of Enterococcus casseliflavus and Enterococcus faecalis, encoding glycerol kinase, the key enzyme of glycerol uptake and metabolism in bacteria, have been cloned and sequenced. The translated amino acid sequences exhibit strong homology to the amino acid sequences of other bacterial glycerol kinases. After expression of the enterococcal glpK genes in Escherichia coli, both glycerol kinases were purified and were found to be phosphorylated by enzyme I and the histidine-containing protein of the phosphoenolpyruvate:glycose phosphotransferase system. Phosphoenolpyruvate-dependent phosphorylation caused a 9-fold increase in enzyme activity. The site of phosphorylation in glycerol kinase of E. casseliflavus was determined as His-232. Site-specific mutagenesis was used to replace His-232 in glycerol kinase of E. casseliflavus with an alanyl, glutamate, or arginyl residue. The mutant proteins could no longer be phosphorylated confirming that His-232 of E. casseliflavus glycerol kinase represents the site of phosphorylation. The His232 --> Arg glycerol kinase exhibited an about 3-fold elevated activity compared with wild-type glycerol kinase. Fructose 1,6-bisphosphate was found to inhibit E. casseliflavus glycerol kinase activity. However, neither EIIAGlc from E. coli nor the EIIAGlc domain of Bacillus subtilis had an inhibitory effect on glycerol kinase of E. casseliflavus.

The Bacillus subtilis L-arabinose (ara) operon: nucleotide sequence, genetic organization and expression

The Bacillus subtilis L-arabinose metabolic genes araA, araB and araD, encoding L-arabinose isomerase, L-ribulokinase and L-ribulose-5-phosphate 4-epimerase, respectively, have been cloned previously and the products of araB and araD were shown to be functionally homologous to their Escherichia coli counterparts by complementation experiments. Here we report that araA, araB and araD, whose inactivation leads to an Ara- phenotype, are the first three ORFs of a nine cistron transcriptional unit with a total length of 11 kb. This operon, called ara, is located at about 256 degrees on the B. subtilis genetic map and contains six new genes named araL, araM, araN, araP, araQ and abfA. Expression of the ara operon is directed by a strong sigma A-like promoter identified within a 150 bp DNA fragment upstream from the translation start site of araA. Analysis of the sequence of the ara operon showed that the putative products of araN, araP and araQ are homologous to bacterial components of binding-protein-dependent transport systems and abfA most probably encodes an alpha-L-arabinofuranosidase. The functions of araL and araM are unknown. An in vitro-constructed insertion-deletion mutation in the region downstream from araD allowed us to demonstrate that araL, araM, araN, araP, araQ and abfA are not essential for L-arabinose utilization. Studies with strains bearing transcriptional fusions of the operon to the E. coli lacZ gene revealed that expression from the ara promoter is induced by L-arabinose and repressed by glucose.

The levanase operon of Bacillus subtilis expressed in Escherichia coli can substitute for the mannose permease in mannose uptake and bacteriophage lambda infection

Bacteriophage lambda adsorbs to its Escherichia coli K-12 host by interacting with LamB, a maltose- and maltodextrin-specific porin of the outer membrane. LamB also serves as a receptor for several other bacteriophages. Lambda DNA requires, in addition to LamB, the presence of two bacterial cytoplasmic integral membrane proteins for penetration, namely, the IIC(Man) and IID(Man) proteins of the E. coli mannose transporter, a member of the sugar-specific phosphoenolpyruvate:sugar phosphotransferase system (PTS). The PTS transporters for mannose of E. coli, for fructose of Bacillus subtilis, and for sorbose of Klebsiella pneumoniae were shown to be highly similar to each other but significantly different from other PTS transporters. These three enzyme II complexes are the only ones to possess distinct IIC and IID transmembrane proteins. In the present work, we show that the fructose-specific permease encoded by the levanase operon of B. subtilis is inducible by mannose and allows mannose uptake in B. subtilis as well as in E. coli. Moreover, we show that the B. subtilis permease can substitute for the E. coli mannose permease cytoplasmic membrane components for phage lambda infection. In contrast, a series of other bacteriophages, also using the LamB protein as a cell surface receptor, do not require the mannose transporter for infection.

The HPr protein of the phosphotransferase system links induction and catabolite repression of the Bacillus subtilis levanase operon

The LevR protein is the activator of expression of the levanase operon of Bacillus subtilis. The promoter of this operon is recognized by RNA polymerase containing the sigma 54-like factor sigma L. One domain of the LevR protein is homologous to activators of the NtrC family, and another resembles antiterminator proteins of the BglG family. It has been proposed that the domain which is similar to antiterminators is a target of phosphoenolpyruvate:sugar phosphotransferase system (PTS)-dependent regulation of LevR activity. We show that the LevR protein is not only negatively regulated by the fructose-specific enzyme IIA/B of the phosphotransferase system encoded by the levanase operon (lev-PTS) but also positively controlled by the histidine-containing phosphocarrier protein (HPr) of the PTS. This second type of control of LevR activity depends on phosphoenolpyruvate-dependent phosphorylation of HPr histidine 15, as demonstrated with point mutations in the ptsH gene encoding HPr. In vitro phosphorylation of partially purified LevR was obtained in the presence of phosphoenolpyruvate, enzyme I, and HPr. The dependence of truncated LevR polypeptides on stimulation by HPr indicated that the domain homologous to antiterminators is the target of HPr-dependent regulation of LevR activity. This domain appears to be duplicated in the LevR protein. The first antiterminator-like domain seems to be the target of enzyme I and HPr-dependent phosphorylation and the site of LevR activation, whereas the carboxy-terminal antiterminator-like domain could be the target for negative regulation by the lev-PTS.

Purification and characterization of the phospho-alpha(1,1)glucosidase (TreA) of Bacillus subtilis 168

The intracellular phospho-alpha(1,1)glucosidase TreA from Bacillus subtilis has been overproduced in Escherichia coli and purified by ion-exchange chromatography and gel filtration. The molecular mass, estimated by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, was 64 kDa. Isoelectric focusing indicated homogeneity of the protein, and its pI was determined to be 4.3. Characterization of the enzyme showed a protein which is stable up to 44 degrees C after temperature treatment for 15 min. The temperature optimum was found to be 37 degrees C, and the pH optimum was 4.5. TreA activity is stimulated by high salt concentrations with different efficiencies depending on the kind of salt. When increasing amounts of ammonium sulfate are used, the increase of TreA activity is correlated with a conformational change of the protein or dimerization. The substrate specificity of the purified enzyme was characterized, showing additionally that trehalose is also hydrolyzed, but to a much smaller extent than trehalose-6-phosphate. In vitro, the presence of glucose reduces TreA activity, indicating product inhibition of the enzyme.

Mutations in the glycerol kinase gene restore the ability of a ptsGHI mutant of Bacillus subtilis to grow on glycerol

Although glycerol is not taken up via the phosphotransferase system (PTS) in Bacillus subtilis, some mutations that affect the general components of the PTS impair the ability of cells to grow on glycerol. Five revertants of a pts deletion mutant that grow on glycerol were analysed. They were shown to carry mutations in the glycerol kinase gene. These are missense mutations located in parts of the glpK gene that could encode regions important for the activity of glycerol kinase. The results strongly suggest that the main effect of the PTS on glycerol utilization in B. subtilis is mediated via glycerol kinase.

Chemotaxis in Bacillus subtilis: how bacteria monitor environmental signals

Virtually all organisms have means of monitoring their environment and making use of information gained to aid their survival. Many organisms, from bacteria to animals, move from place to place and can alter their movements. Chemotaxis is a signal transduction system found in motile bacteria that allows them to sense changes in the concentrations of various extracellular compounds and change their swimming behavior in a way that moves them toward more favorable environments. Chemotaxis is the most ancient sensory-motor process in nature. For years, studies of enteric bacteria, such as Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhimurium, have served as the paradigm for understanding this process on a molecular level. Recent studies on the gram-positive bacterium, Bacillus subtilis, and other bacteria, suggest that a slightly more complex system may be ancestral to that of the more extensively studied enterics. Aspects of chemotaxis that are unique to B. subtilis include a more complex adaptation system, with protein-protein methyl group transfer, chemotaxis proteins having no counterparts in E. coli, and a very extensive repertoire of repellents that are sensed at very low concentrations by receptors.

Phosphoenolpyruvate:carbohydrate phosphotransferase systems of bacteria

Numerous gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria take up carbohydrates through the phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP):carbohydrate phosphotransferase system (PTS). This system transports and phosphorylates carbohydrates at the expense of PEP and is the subject of this review. The PTS consists of two general proteins, enzyme I and HPr, and a number of carbohydrate-specific enzymes, the enzymes II. PTS proteins are phosphoproteins in which the phospho group is attached to either a histidine residue or, in a number of cases, a cysteine residue. After phosphorylation of enzyme I by PEP, the phospho group is transferred to HPr. The enzymes II are required for the transport of the carbohydrates across the membrane and the transfer of the phospho group from phospho-HPr to the carbohydrates. Biochemical, structural, and molecular genetic studies have shown that the various enzymes II have the same basic structure. Each enzyme II consists of domains for specific functions, e.g., binding of the carbohydrate or phosphorylation. Each enzyme II complex can consist of one to four different polypeptides. The enzymes II can be placed into at least four classes on the basis of sequence similarity. The genetics of the PTS is complex, and the expression of PTS proteins is intricately regulated because of the central roles of these proteins in nutrient acquisition. In addition to classical induction-repression mechanisms involving repressor and activator proteins, other types of regulation, such as antitermination, have been observed in some PTSs. Apart from their role in carbohydrate transport, PTS proteins are involved in chemotaxis toward PTS carbohydrates. Furthermore, the IIAGlc protein, part of the glucose-specific PTS, is a central regulatory protein which in its nonphosphorylated form can bind to and inhibit several non-PTS uptake systems and thus prevent entry of inducers. In its phosphorylated form, P-IIAGlc is involved in the activation of adenylate cyclase and thus in the regulation of gene expression. By sensing the presence of PTS carbohydrates in the medium and adjusting the phosphorylation state of IIAGlc, cells can adapt quickly to changing conditions in the environment. In gram-positive bacteria, it has been demonstrated that HPr can be phosphorylated by ATP on a serine residue and this modification may perform a regulatory function.

Regulation of glycerol metabolism in Enterococcus faecalis by phosphoenolpyruvate-dependent phosphorylation of glycerol kinase catalyzed by enzyme I and HPr of the phosphotransferase system

Using a polyclonal antibody against glycerol kinase from Enterococcus faecalis, we could demonstrate that glycerol kinase is inducible by growth on glycerol-containing medium and that during growth on glycerol the enzyme is mainly phosphorylated. Glucose and other sugars metabolized via the Embden-Meyerhof pathway strongly repressed the synthesis of glycerol kinase, while if glycerol was also present during growth, low activity, reflecting partial induction and the presence of mainly unphosphorylated, less active enzyme, was found. With gluconate, which is also a substrate of the phosphotransferase system, repression of glycerol kinase was less severe, but the enzyme was mainly present in the less active, unphosphorylated form. Effects of growth on different carbon sources on glycerol uptake are also reported.

Utilisation of glycerol and glycerol 3-phosphate is differently affected by the phosphotransferase system in Bacillus subtilis

Glycerol and glycerol 3-phosphate uptake in Bacillus subtilis does not involve the phosphotransferase system. In spite of this, B. subtilis mutants defective in the general components of the phosphotransferase system, EnzymeI or Hpr, are unable to grow with glycerol as sole carbon and energy source. Here we show that a Hpr mutant can grow on glycerol 3-phosphate and that glycerol 3-phosphate, but not glycerol, can induce glpD encoding glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase. Induction of glpD also requires the glpP gene product which is a regulator of all known glp genes. Thus the phosphotransferase system general components do not interfere with the overall regulation of the glp regulon. Revertants of a Hpr mutant which can grown on glycerol carry mutations closely linked to the glp region at 75 degrees on the B. subtilis chromosomal map. This region contains the glpP, the glpFK and the glpD operons. The glpFK operon encodes the glycerol uptake facilitator (glpF) and glycerol kinase (glpK). The present results demonstrate that one of these genes, or their gene products, is the target for phosphotransferase system control of glycerol utilisation. Furthermore we conclude that utilisation of glycerol and glycerol 3-phosphate is differently affected by the phosphotransferase system in B. subtilis.

Regulation of the sacPA operon of Bacillus subtilis: identification of phosphotransferase system components involved in SacT activity

The sacT gene which controls the sacPA operon of Bacillus subtilis encodes a polypeptide homologous to the B. subtilis SacY and the Escherichia coli BglG antiterminators. Expression of the sacT gene is shown to be constitutive. The DNA sequence upstream from sacP contains a palindromic sequence which functions as a transcriptional terminator. We have previously proposed that SacT acts as a transcriptional antiterminator, allowing transcription of the sacPA operon. In strains containing mutations inactivating ptsH or ptsI, the expression of sacPA and sacB is constitutive. In this work, we show that this constitutivity is due to a fully active SacY antiterminator. In the wild-type sacT+ strain or in the sacT30 mutant, SacT requires both enzyme I and HPr of the phosphotransferase system (PTS) for antitermination. It appears that the PTS exerts different effects on the sacB gene and the sacPA operon. The general proteins of the PTS are not required for the activity of SacY while they are necessary for SacT activity.

The glucose permease of the phosphotransferase system of Bacillus subtilis: evidence for IIGlc and IIIGlc domains

Glucose is taken up in Bacillus subtilis via the phosphoenolpyruvate:glucose phosphotransferase system (glucose PTS). Two genes, orfG and ptsX, have been implied in the glucose-specific part of this PTS, encoding an Enzyme IIGlc and an Enzyme IIIGlc, respectively. We now show that the glucose permease consists of a single, membrane-bound, polypeptide with an apparent molecular weight of 80,000, encoded by a single gene which will be designated ptsG. The glucose permease contains domains that are 40-50% identical to the IIGlc and IIIGlc proteins of Escherichia coli. The B. subtilis IIIGlc domain can replace IIIGlc in E. coli crr mutants in supporting growth on glucose and transport of methyl alpha-glucoside. Mutations in the IIGlc and IIIGlc domains of the B. subtilis ptsG gene impaired growth on glucose and in some cases on sucrose. ptsG mutants lost all methyl alpha-glucoside transport but retained part of the glucose-transport capacity. Residual growth on glucose and transport of glucose in these ptsG mutants suggested that yet another uptake system for glucose existed, which is either another PT system or regulated by the PTS. The glucose PTS did not seem to be involved in the regulation of the uptake or metabolism of non-PTS compounds like glycerol. In contrast to ptsl mutants in members of the Enterobacteriaceae, the defective growth of B. subtilis ptsl mutants on glycerol was not restored by an insertion in the ptsG gene which eliminated IIGlc. Growth of B. subtilis ptsG mutants, lacking IIGlc, was not impaired on glycerol. From this we concluded that neither non-phosphorylated nor phosphorylated IIGlc was acting as an inhibitor or an activator, respectively, of glycerol uptake and metabolism.

Levanase operon of Bacillus subtilis includes a fructose-specific phosphotransferase system regulating the expression of the operon

The levanase gene (sacC) of Bacillus subtilis is the distal gene of a fructose-inducible operon containing five genes. The complete nucleotide sequence of this operon was determined. The first four genes levD, levE, levF and levG encode polypeptides that are similar to proteins of the mannose phosphotransferase system of Escherichia coli. The levD and levE gene products are homologous to the N and C-terminal part of the enzyme IIIMan, respectively, whereas the levF and levG gene products have similarities with the enzymes IIMan. Surprisingly, the polypeptides encoded by the levD, levE, levF and levG genes are not involved in mannose uptake, but form a fructose phosphotransferase system in B. subtilis. This transport is dependent on the enzyme I of the phosphotransferase system (PTS) and is abolished by deletion of levF or levG and by mutations in either levD or levE. Four regulatory mutations (sacL) leading to constitutive expression of the lavanase operon were mapped using recombination experiments. Three of them were characterized at the molecular level and were located within levD and levE. The levD and levE gene products that form part of a fructose uptake PTS act as negative regulators of the operon. These two gene products may be involved in a PTS-mediated phosphorylation of a regulator, as in the bgl operon of E. coli.

The sacT gene regulating the sacPA operon in Bacillus subtilis shares strong homology with transcriptional antiterminators

The expression of the Bacillus subtilis sacPA operon is induced by sucrose. A DNA fragment containing the upstream region of this operon was cloned. This fragment contains a promoter from which the operon is expressed. This upstream region also contains a palindromic DNA sequence very similar to the transcriptional terminator which regulates the induction of the B. subtilis sacB gene. Of 37 nucleotides in a region partially overlapping the sacP palindromic sequence, 34 were identical to the corresponding region of the sacB gene. A similar motif is also present in the bgl operon of Escherichia coli. The sacT locus controlling sacPA expression had been identified by a single constitutive mutation sacT30 which mapped close to the sacPA operon. DNA fragments containing the sacT+ and sacT30 alleles were cloned and sequenced. The sacT gene product is very similar to the B. subtilis sacY and to the E. coli bglG gene products. The constitutive sacT30 mutation was identified. It corresponds to a Asp-96-to-Tyr missense mutation located in a highly conserved region in SacT and SacY. These results strongly suggest that sacT is a specific regulatory gene of the sacPA operon.

Induction of levansucrase in Bacillus subtilis: an antitermination mechanism negatively controlled by the phosphotransferase system

The target of the induction by sucrose of the levansucrase gene is a transcription terminator (sacRt) located upstream from the coding sequence, sacB. The two-gene locus sacX-sacY (formerly sacS) and the ptsI gene were previously shown to be involved in this induction. ptsI encodes enzyme I of the phosphoenolpyruvate-dependent phosphotransferase system. SacX is strongly homologous to sucrose-specific phosphotransferase system-dependent permeases. SacY is a positive regulator of sacB. Here we show that SacY is probably an antiterminator interacting directly with sacRt, since in Escherichia coli the presence of the sacY gene stimulates the expression of a reporter gene fused downstream from sacRt. Missense mutations affecting sacY were sequenced, and the sacB regulation was studied in isogenic strains carrying these mutations or in vitro-generated mutations affecting sacX, sacY, or ptsI. The phenotype of double mutants suggests a model in which SacX might be a sucrose sensor that would be phosphorylated by the phosphotransferase system and, in this state, could inhibit the SacY antiterminator. Exogenous sucrose, or a mutation inactivating the phosphotransferase system, would dephosphorylate SacX and allow antitermination at sacRt.

Phosphoenolpyruvate:sugar phosphotransferase system of Bacillus subtilis: nucleotide sequence of ptsX, ptsH and the 5'-end of ptsI and evidence for a ptsHI operon

The nucleotide sequence of a 1689bp fragment of the Bacillus subtilis locus containing ptsX (a crr-like gene), ptsH (coding for HPr), and the 5'-end of ptsI (coding for Enzyme I) was determined. The deduced amino acid sequences of ptsH and the N-terminal part of ptsI were compared to those of Streptococcus faecalis and Escherichia coli. Transcription fusion demonstrated that ptsHI constitutes an operon. An open reading frame overlapping the main part of ptsH in the opposite sense was shown to be expressed in vivo, using protein fusions with beta-galactosidase. The deduced amino acid sequence of ptsX showed significant homology with that of Salmonella typhimurium glucose-specific Enzyme III. ptsX was preceded by an open reading frame whose amino acid sequence showed strong homology with the C-terminal part of E. coli Enzyme IIGlc.

The phosphoenolpyruvate:sugar phosphotransferase system in gram-positive bacteria: properties, mechanism, and regulation

This review consists of three major sections. The first and largest section reviews the protein constituents and known properties of the phosphotransferase systems present in well-studied Gram-positive bacteria. These bacteria include species of the following genera: (1) Staphylococcus, (2) Streptococcus, (3) Bacillus, (4) Lactobacillus, (5) Clostridium, (6) Arthrobacter, and (7) Brochothrix. The properties of the different systems are compared. The second major section deals with the regulation of carbohydrate uptake. There are four parts: (1) inhibition by intracellular sugar phosphates in Staphylococcus aureus, (2) PTS-mediated regulation of glycerol uptake in Bacillus subtilis, (3) competition for phospho-HPr in Streptococcus mutans, and (4) the possible involvement of protein kinases in the regulation of sugar uptake via the phosphotransferase system. The third section deals with the phenomenon of inducer expulsion. The first part is concerned with the physiological characterization of the phenomenon; then the consequences of unregulated uptake and expulsion, a futile cycle of energy expenditure, are considered. Finally, the biochemistry of the protein kinase and the protein phosphate phosphatase system, which appears to regulate sugar transport via the phosphotransferase system, is defined. The review, therefore, concentrates on the phosphotransferase system, its functions in carbohydrate transport and phosphorylation, the mechanisms of its regulation, and the mechanism by which it participates in the regulation of other physiological processes in the bacterial cell.

Cloning and preliminary characterization of the sacS locus from Bacillus subtilis which controls the regulation of the exoenzyme levansucrase

The regulation of sacB, the gene encoding Bacillus subtilis levansucrase is altered by mutations located in several loci unlinked to sacB. Amongst these, the sacS locus seems to play an important role in the induction of sacB by sucrose. We have cloned sacS and found evidence suggesting that it contains two genes. The product of the first gene might repress the expression of the second; the second gene encodes a positive regulator of levansucrase synthesis, since its deletion abolishes this synthesis. There is a palindromic sequence resembling Q-independent terminators between the sacB promoter and the structural gene. Mutations affecting this palindrome make sacB constitutive. This suggests that the putative terminator is involved in the induction of sacB by sucrose. We discuss the possibility that the sacS-encoded positive regulator is a sucrose-dependent antiterminator which modulates transcription termination between the sacB promoter and the structural gene.

Phosphoenolpyruvate:sugar phosphotransferase system of Bacillus subtilis: cloning of the region containing the ptsH and ptsI genes and evidence for a crr-like gene

The genes ptsI and ptsH, which encode, respectively, enzyme I and Hpr, cytoplasmic proteins involved in the phosphoenolpyruvate:sugar phosphotransferase system, were cloned from Bacillus subtilis. A plasmid containing a 4.1-kilobase DNA fragment was shown to complement Escherichia coli mutations affecting the ptsH and ptsI genes. In minicells this plasmid expressed two proteins with the molecular weights expected for Hpr and enzyme I. Therefore, ptsH and ptsI are adjacent in B. subtilis, as in E. coli. In E. coli a third gene (crr), involved in glucose translocation and also in catabolite repression, is located downstream from the ptsHI operon. The 4.1-kilobase fragment from B. subtilis was shown to contain a gene that enables an E. coli crr mutant to use glucose. This gene, unlike the E. coli crr gene, was located to the left of ptsH.

Regulation of glycerol uptake by the phosphoenolpyruvate-sugar phosphotransferase system in Bacillus subtilis

Enteric bacteria have been previously shown to regulate the uptake of certain carbohydrates (lactose, maltose, and glycerol) by an allosteric mechanism involving the catalytic activities of the phosphoenolpyruvate-sugar phosphotransferase system. In the present studies, a ptsI mutant of Bacillus subtilis, possessing a thermosensitive enzyme I of the phosphotransferase system, was used to gain evidence for a similar regulatory mechanism in a gram-positive bacterium. Thermoinactivation of enzyme I resulted in the loss of methyl alpha-glucoside uptake activity and enhanced sensitivity of glycerol uptake to inhibition by sugar substrates of the phosphotransferase system. The concentration of the inhibiting sugar which half maximally blocked glycerol uptake was directly related to residual enzyme I activity. Each sugar substrate of the phosphotransferase system inhibited glycerol uptake provided that the enzyme II specific for that sugar was induced to a sufficiently high level. The results support the conclusion that the phosphotransferase system regulates glycerol uptake in B. subtilis and perhaps in other gram-positive bacteria.

Biochemical and genetic study of D-glucitol transport and catabolism in Bacillus subtilis

The catabolic pathway of D-glucitol (sorbitol) in Bacillus subtilis Marburg 168M is characterized. It includes (i) a transport step catalyzed by a D-glucitol permease which is affected by the gutA mutations, (ii) an oxidation step of the intracellular D-glucitol catalyzed by a D-glucitol dehydrogenase, generating intracellular fructose, affected by gutB mutations, and (iii) phosphorylation of the intracellular fructose either at the C1 site or at the C6 site as described previously (A. Delobbe et al., Eur. J. Biochem., 66:485-491, 1976; A. Delobbe et al., EUR. J. Biochem. 51:503-510, 1975). Additional data are given concerning the phosphorylation of fructose by a fructokinase (fructose ATP 6-phosphotransferase), which is affected by the fruC mutation. The isolation of regulatory mutants affected in gutR that synthesize constitutively both the permease and the dehydrogenase indicates the existence of a D-glucitol operon in B. subtilis. Unlike the wild-type strain, these mutants are able to utilize D-xylitol as sole carbon source.

D-alanine incorporation into macromolecules and effects of D-alanine deprivation on active transport in Bacillus subtilis

An auxotroph of Bacillus subtilis 168 unable to synthesize D-alanine loses the ability to support endogenously energized transport when deprived of D-alanine. Revertants of the mutant retain transport activity. The loss of transport is specific for substrates taken up by active transport; substrates taken up by group translocation are transported at normal rates. The loss of transport can be retarded by pretreatment of the cells with inhibitors of protein synthesis. Since the loss of transport could be due to an alteration in a D-alanine-containing polymer, we investigated the incorporation of D-[14C]alanine into macromolecules. The major D-alanine-containing polymers in B. subtilis are peptidoglycan and teichoic acid, with 4 to 6% of the D-[14C]alanine label found in trypsin-soluble material. Whereas the peptidoglycan and teichoic acid undergo turnover, the trypsin-soluble material does not. Treatment of the trypsin-soluble material with Pronase releases free D-alanine. Analysis of acid-hydrolyzed trypsin-soluble material indicated that approximately 75% of the radioactivity is present as D-alanine, with the remainder present as L-alanine. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of partially purified D-[14C]alanine-labeled membranes indicated the presence of two peaks of radioactivity (molecular weights, 230,000 and 80,000) that could be digested by trypsin. The results suggest that D-alanine may be covalently bound to cellular proteins.

Fructose transport in Bacillus subtilis

The transport of fructose in Bacillus subtilis was studied in various mutant strains lacking the following activities: ATP-dependent fructokinase (fruC), the fructose 1-phosphate kinase (fruB) the phosphofructokinase (pfk), the enzyme I of the phosphoenolpyruvate phosphotransferase system (the thermosensitive mutation ptsI1), and a transport activity (fruA). Combinations of these mutations indicated that the transport of fructose in Bacillus subtilis is tightly coupled to its phosphorylation either in fructose 1-phosphate, identified in vivo and in vitro or in fructose 6-phosphate identified by indirect lines of evidence. These steps of fructose metabolism were shown to depend on the activity of the enzyme I of the phosphoenolpyruvate phosphotransferase systems. The fruA mutations affect the transport of fructose when the bacteria are submitted to catabolite repression. The mutations were localized on the chromosome of Bacillus subtilis in a cluster including the fruB gene. When grown in a medium supplemented by a mixture of potassium glutamate and succinate the fruA mutants are able to carry on the two vectorial metabolisms generating fructose 6-phosphate as well as fructose 1-phosphate. A negative search of strictly negative transport mutants in fruA strains indicated that more than two structural genes are involved in the transport of fructose.

Genetic control of the glp system in Bacillus subtilis

In pleiotropic negative glycerol utilization mutants (GlpPI mutants) of Bacillus subitilis, glycerol kinase and sn-glycerol 3-phosphate (G3P) dehydrogenase are noninducible. GlpPI mutants also fail to take up exogenous [14C]G3P. To study the regulation of the glp system in B. subtilis phenotypically, Glp+ revertants were isolated from GlpPI mutants. Four classes of revertants were identified: phenotypically, wild type; R1 type, which contains an informational suppressor, R2 type, which produced G3P dehydrogenase constitutively; and R3 type, with a temperature-sensitive Glp phenotype producing G3P dehydrogenase constitutively at permissive temperature (32 degrees C). The properties of the revertants indicate that the glpPI locus codes for a protein with a positive regulatory function.

Phosphorylation of intracellular fructose in Bacillus subtilis mediated by phosphoenolpyruvate-1-fructose phosphotransferase

Intracellular fructose provided by the sorbitol pathway in Bacillus subtilis can be phosphorylated by the phosphenolpyruvate-1-fructose phosphotransferase which is known to mediate a vectorial metabolism. The fate of this intracellular fructose was studied using mutants lacking either the fructose 1-phosphate pathway or the fructose 6-phosphate pathway. It was shown that the phosphoenolpyruvate-dependent phosphorylation needs a prior exit of the sugar into the medium, this exit being probably catalysed by a transport system. A low affinitiy intracellular phosphenolpyruvate phosphotransferase system was found, which seems to be devoid of a physiological role.

Bidirectional chromosome replication in Bacillus subtilis 168

Density transfer analysis of deoxyribonucleic acid from Bacillus subtilis 168 thy spores germinating in 5-bromouracil medium shows the order of replication of genetic markers to be: purA16, cysA14, sacA, ctrA, (narB, arol), dal, (hisA1, purB6), (tre-12, thr-5), (argA, aroG, argC4), (metC, leu-8, pheA), (ura-1, aroD), lys-1, (trpC, metB, ilvA, citB, citK, gltA). The precise order of transfer of markers within parentheses could not be determined in these experiments. Taken together with new PBS1 transduction data presented here and in the accompanying paper of J. Lepesant-Kejzlarová, J.-A. Lepesant, J. Walle, A. Billaut, and R. Dedonder (1975), the results can be resolved in terms of a symmetric, fully bidirectional mode of chromosome replication with a replication origin close to the purA16 marker and a terminus in the region of the gltA, citK loci, diametrically opposed to the origin. A new genetic map of the B. subtilis 168 chromosome is presented.

Existence of two alternative pathways for fructose and sorbitol metabolism in Bacillus subtilis Marburg

Strains of Bacillus subtilis mutated for fructose phosphotransferase system (fruA), fructose-1-phosphate kinase (fruB), fructokinase (frucC) have been tested for their catabolism of sorbitol and fructose. It is shown that the previously known pathways of sorbitol and fructose degradation in B. subtilis, e.g.: (see article) may metabolize intracellular fructose produced either by sorbitol oxidation or by fructose-1-phosphate dephosphorylation. The intracellular fructore degradation via fructose-1-phosphate kinase has been found to require the fructose phosphotransferase system which ensures a vectorial transport of fructose.

Comparative studies on induction of sporulation and synthesis of inducible enzymes in Bacillus subtilis

An attempt was made to determine whether sporulation and inducible enzyme synthesis in Bacillus subtilis are controlled by the same mechanism of catabolite repression. By the use of a thymine-requiring strain, it has been shown that, whereas sporulation remained repressed unless chromosome replication proceeded to completion, the induction of the enzymes histidase, sucrase, and alpha-glucosidase proceeded quite normally in the absence of continued deoxyribonucleic acid synthesis. It is concluded that the mechanism for overcoming the repression of sporulation differs qualitatively from that involved in overcoming the repression of inducible enzyme synthesis. Attempts to isolate pleiotropic mutants that would provide additional support for this contention were unsuccessful. A pleiotropic mutant deficient in phosphoenolpyruvate-dependent phosphotransferase activity sporulated quite well, whereas a mutant presumed deficient in glutamate synthetase sporulated poorly under all conditions.

Glycerol metabolism in Bacillus subtilis: gene-enzyme relationships

Bacillus subtilis mutants unable to catabolize glycerol (Glp mutants) were isolated and mapped. The location of the mutations on the chromosome was determined by a density transfer technique and confirmed by PBS1 transduction and transformation. The different mutations were ordered relative to each other. Mutations rendering the cells glycerol auxotrophic were also mapped and found not to be linked to the Glp mutations.