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J Bacteriol, February 1998, p. 498-504, Vol. 180, No. 3
0021-9193/98/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1998, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Characterization of Glucose-Specific Catabolite Repression-Resistant Mutants of Bacillus subtilis: Identification of a Novel Hexose:H⁺ Symporter

Ian T. Paulsen, Sylvie Chauvaux, Peter Choi, and Milton H. Saier Jr.^*

Department of Biology, University of California at San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093-0116

Received 14 July 1997/Accepted 10 November 1997

Insertional mutagenesis was conducted on Bacillus subtilis cells to screen for mutants resistant to catabolite repression. Three classes of mutants that were resistant to glucose-promoted but not mannitol-promoted catabolite repression were identified. Cloning and sequencing of the mutated genes revealed that the mutations occurred in the structural genes for (i) enzyme II of the phosphoenolpyruvate-glucose phosphotransferase (PtsG), (ii) antiterminator GlcT, which controls PtsG synthesis, and (iii) a previously uncharacterized carrier of the major facilitator superfamily, which we have designated GlcP. The last protein exhibits greatest sequence similarity to the fucose:H⁺ symporter of Escherichia coli and the glucose/galactose:H⁺ symporter of Brucella abortus. In a wild-type B. subtilis genetic background, the glcP::Tn10 mutation (i) partially but specifically relieved glucose- and sucrose-promoted catabolite repression, (ii) reduced the growth rate in minimal glucose medium, and (iii) reduced rates of [¹⁴C]glucose and [¹⁴C]methyl -glucoside uptake. In a pts genetic background no phenotype was observed, suggesting that expression of the glcP gene required a functional phosphotransferase system. When overproduced in a pts mutant of E. coli, GlcP could be shown to specifically transport glucose, mannose, 2-deoxyglucose and methyl -glucoside with low micromolar affinities. Accumulation of the nonmetabolizable glucose analogs was demonstrated, and inhibitor studies suggested a dependency on the proton motive force. We conclude that B. subtilis possesses at least two distinct routes of glucose entry, both of which contribute to the phenomenon of catabolite repression.

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^* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Biology, 0116, University of California at San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093-0116. Phone: (619) 534-4084. Fax: (619) 534-7108. E-mail: msaier{at}ucsd.edu.

Present address: School of Biological Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia.

Present address: Unité de Physiologie Cellulaire, Département des Biotechnologies, Institut Pasteur, 75724 Paris Cedex 15, France.

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