title: Lactose permease mutants which transport (malto)-oligosaccharides.
abstract: Lactose permease mutants, which were previously isolated in sugar specificity studies, were screened for their abilities to transport the trisaccharide maltotriose. Six multiple mutants (e.g., five double mutants and one triple mutant) were identified as forming fermentation-positive colonies on maltotriose MacConkey plates and were also shown to grow on maltotriose minimal plates. All of these multiple mutants contained a combination of two or three amino acid substitutions at position 177, 236, 306, or 322 within the permease. In contrast, none of the corresponding single mutants at these locations were observed to exhibit an enhanced rate of maltotriose transport. In whole-cell assays, the multiple mutants were shown to transport relatively long alpha-nitrophenylglucoside (alpha NPG) molecules. In certain cases, alpha NPG molecules containing up to four glucose residues in addition to the nitrophenyl group were shown to be transported to a significant degree. Overall, the abilities of lactose permease mutants to transport maltotriose and long alpha NPGs are discussed with regard to the dimensions of the sugar and the mechanism of sugar transport.
authors.affiliation: Department of Genetics and Cell Biology, University of Minnesota, St. Paul 55108.
authors.forename: S G
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Olsen
authors.forename: K M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Greene
authors.forename: R J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Brooker
mesh_terms: D001692:Biological Transport; D002240:Carbohydrate Sequence; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins; D005285:Fermentation; D007700:Kinetics; D026901:Membrane Transport Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009004:Monosaccharide Transport Proteins; D009844:Oligosaccharides / Q000378:metabolism*; D010957:Plasmids; D017354:Point Mutation; D013379:Substrate Specificity; D027981:Symporters
chemical_list: D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins; C050221:LacY protein, E coli; D026901:Membrane Transport Proteins; D009004:Monosaccharide Transport Proteins; D009844:Oligosaccharides; D027981:Symporters; C021705:maltooligosaccharides; C021499:lactose permease