title: Mutants of Escherichia coli producing pyrroloquinoline quinone.
abstract: In glucose minimal medium a PTS- strain of Escherichia coli [delta (ptsH ptsI crr)] could grow slowly (doubling time, d = 10 h). When the population reached 5 x 10(6) to 2 x 10(7) cells ml-1, mutants growing rapidly (d = 1.5 h) appeared and rapidly outgrew the initial population. These mutants (EF mutants) do not use a constitutive galactose permease for glucose translocation. They synthesize sufficient pyrroloquinoline quinone (PQQ) to yield a specific activity of glucose dehydrogenase (GDH) equivalent to that found in the parent strain grown in glucose minimal medium supplemented with 1 nM-PQQ. Membrane preparations containing an active GDH oxidized glucose to gluconic acid, which was also present in the culture supernatant of EF strains in glucose minimal medium. Glucose utilization is the only phenotypic trait distinguishing EF mutants from the parent strain. Glucose utilization by EF mutants was strictly aerobic as expected from a PQQ-dependent catabolism. The regulation of PQQ production by E. coli is discussed.
authors.affiliation: Département de Biochimie et Génétique Moléculaire, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Biville
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Turlin
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Gasser
mesh_terms: D000332:Aerobiosis; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D015964:Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial / Q000502:physiology; D005942:Gluconates / Q000032:analysis; D005947:Glucose / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000494:pharmacology; D042843:Glucose 1-Dehydrogenase; D005948:Glucose Dehydrogenases / Q000378:metabolism; D007700:Kinetics; D026901:Membrane Transport Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D009004:Monosaccharide Transport Proteins; D009154:Mutation / Q000235:genetics*; D045542:PQQ Cofactor; D010770:Phosphotransferases / Q000235:genetics; D015363:Quinolones / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D005942:Gluconates; D026901:Membrane Transport Proteins; D009004:Monosaccharide Transport Proteins; D015363:Quinolones; C043910:galactose permease; D045542:PQQ Cofactor; D005948:Glucose Dehydrogenases; D042843:Glucose 1-Dehydrogenase; D010770:Phosphotransferases; D005947:Glucose; C030691:gluconic acid