title: glc locus of Escherichia coli: characterization of genes encoding the subunits of glycolate oxidase and the glc regulator protein.
abstract: The locus glc (min 64.5), associated with the glycolate utilization trait in Escherichia coli, is known to contain glcB, encoding malate synthase G, and the gene(s) needed for glycolate oxidase activity. Subcloning, sequencing, insertion mutagenesis, and expression studies showed five additional genes: glcC and in the other direction glcD, glcE, glcF, and glcG followed by glcB. The gene glcC may encode the glc regulator protein. Consistently a chloramphenicol acetyltransferase insertion mutation abolished both glycolate oxidase and malate synthase G activities. The proteins encoded from glcD and glcE displayed similarity to several flavoenzymes, the one from glcF was found to be similar to iron-sulfur proteins, and that from glcG had no significant similarity to any group of proteins. The insertional mutation by a chloramphenicol acetyltransferase cassette in either glcD, glcE, or glcF abolished glycolate oxidase activity, indicating that presumably these proteins are subunits of this enzyme. No effect on glycolate metabolism was detected by insertional mutation in glcG. Northern (RNA) blot experiments showed constitutive expression of glcC but induced expression for the structural genes and provided no evidence for a single polycistronic transcript.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: M T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Pellicer
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Badía
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Aguilar
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Baldomà
mesh_terms: D000429:Alcohol Oxidoreductases / Q000235:genetics*; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001483:Base Sequence; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D005809:Genes, Regulator; D006016:Glycolates / Q000378:metabolism*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009154:Mutation; D009876:Operon; D014158:Transcription, Genetic
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D006016:Glycolates; C031149:glycolic acid; D000429:Alcohol Oxidoreductases; C020821:glycollate oxidase