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Journal of Bacteriology, September 2009, p. 5549-5552, Vol. 191, No. 17
0021-9193/09/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JB.00381-09
Copyright © 2009, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Polyamines Are Not Required for Aerobic Growth of Escherichia coli: Preparation of a Strain with Deletions in All of the Genes for Polyamine Biosynthesis{triangledown}

Manas K. Chattopadhyay, Celia White Tabor, and Herbert Tabor*

Laboratory of Biochemistry and Genetics, National Institute of Diabetes, Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892

Received 19 March 2009/ Accepted 16 June 2009

A strain of Escherichia coli was constructed in which all of the genes involved in polyamine biosynthesis—speA (arginine decarboxylase), speB (agmatine ureohydrolase), speC (ornithine decarboxylase), spe D (adenosylmethionine decarboxylase), speE (spermidine synthase), speF (inducible ornithine decarboxylase), cadA (lysine decarboxylase), and ldcC (lysine decarboxylase)—had been deleted. Despite the complete absence of all of the polyamines, the strain grew indefinitely in air in amine-free medium, albeit at a slightly (ca. 40 to 50%) reduced growth rate. Even though this strain grew well in the absence of the amines in air, it was still sensitive to oxygen stress in the absence of added spermidine. In contrast to the ability to grow in air in the absence of polyamines, this strain, surprisingly, showed a requirement for polyamines for growth under strictly anaerobic conditions.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: NIDDK, National Institutes of Health, 8 Center Dr., Bldg. 8, Rm. 223, Bethesda, MD 20892. Phone: (301) 496-2562. Fax: (301) 402-0240. E-mail: tabor{at}helix.nih.gov

{triangledown} Published ahead of print on 19 June 2009.

Journal of Bacteriology, September 2009, p. 5549-5552, Vol. 191, No. 17
0021-9193/09/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JB.00381-09
Copyright © 2009, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.





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