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Journal of Bacteriology, February 2009, p. 940-948, Vol. 191, No. 3
0021-9193/09/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JB.01155-08
Copyright © 2009, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Identification and Characterization of a Bacterial Transport System for the Uptake of Pyruvate, Propionate, and Acetate in Corynebacterium glutamicum{triangledown}

Elena Jolkver,1 Denise Emer,2 Stefan Ballan,1,{dagger} Reinhard Krämer,1 Bernhard J. Eikmanns,2 and Kay Marin1*

Institute of Biochemistry, University of Cologne, 50674 Cologne, Germany,1 Institute of Microbiology and Biotechnology, University of Ulm, 89069 Ulm, Germany2

Received 15 August 2008/ Accepted 12 November 2008

The metabolism of monocarboxylic acids is of central importance for bacteria in their natural habitat as well as during biotechnological production. Although biosynthesis and degradation are well understood, the transport of such compounds is still a matter of discussion. Here we present the identification and characterization of a new transport system in Corynebacterium glutamicum with high affinity for acetate and propionate and with lower affinity for pyruvate. Biochemical analysis of this monocarboxylic acid transporter (MctC) revealed for the first time a quantitative discrimination of passive diffusion and active transport of acetate by bacterial cells. MctC is a secondary transporter and belongs to the class of sodium solute symporters, but it is driven by the electrochemical proton potential. The mctC gene is preceded by and cotranscribed with cg0952, a locus encoding a small membrane protein, and the transcription of the cg0952-mctC operon is under the control of the transcriptional regulators RamA and RamB. Both of these proteins directly bind to the promoter region of the operon; RamA is essential for expression and RamB exerts a slightly negative control on expression of the cg0952-mctC operon. mctC expression is induced in the presence of pyruvate and beneficial under substrate-limiting conditions for C. glutamicum.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: University of Cologne, Institute of Biochemistry, Zuelpicher Str. 47, 50674 Cologne, Germany. Phone: 49 (0)221 470 6476. Fax: 49 (0)221 470 5091. E-mail: kay.marin{at}uni-koeln.de

{triangledown} Published ahead of print on 21 November 2008.

{dagger} Present address: University of Zurich, Institute of Plant Biology, Molecular Plant Physiology, Zollikerstr. 107, 8008 Zurich, Switzerland.

Journal of Bacteriology, February 2009, p. 940-948, Vol. 191, No. 3
0021-9193/09/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JB.01155-08
Copyright © 2009, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Youn, J.-W., Jolkver, E., Kramer, R., Marin, K., Wendisch, V. F. (2009). Characterization of the Dicarboxylate Transporter DctA in Corynebacterium glutamicum. J. Bacteriol. 191: 5480-5488 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


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