title: Identification of GutQ from Escherichia coli as a D-arabinose 5-phosphate isomerase.
abstract: The glucitol operon (gutAEBDMRQ) of Escherichia coli encodes a phosphoenolpyruvate:sugar phosphotransferase system that metabolizes the hexitol D-glucitol (sorbitol). The functions for all but the last gene, gutQ, have been previously assigned. The high sequence similarity between GutQ and KdsD, a D-arabinose 5-phosphate isomerase (API) from the 3-deoxy-D-manno-octulosonate (KDO)-lipopolysaccharide (LPS) biosynthetic pathway, suggested a putative activity, but its role within the context of the gut operon remained unclear. Accordingly, the enzyme was cloned, overexpressed, and characterized. Recombinant GutQ was shown to indeed be a second copy of API from the E. coli K-12 genome with biochemical properties similar to those of KdsD, catalyzing the reversible aldol-ketol isomerization between D-ribulose 5-phosphate (Ru5P) and D-arabinose 5-phosphate (A5P). Genomic disruptions of each API gene were constructed in E. coli K-12. TCM11[(deltakdsD)] was capable of sustaining essential LPS synthesis at wild-type levels, indicating that GutQ functions as an API inside the cell. The gut operon remained inducible in TCM7[(deltagutQ)], suggesting that GutQ is not directly involved in d-glucitol catabolism. The conditional mutant TCM15[(deltagutQdeltakdsD)] was dependent on exogenous A5P both for LPS synthesis/growth and for upregulation of the gut operon. The phenotype was suppressed by complementation in trans with a plasmid encoding a functional copy of GutQ or by increasing the amount of A5P in the medium. As there is no obvious obligatory role for GutQ in the metabolism of d-glucitol and there is no readily apparent link between D-glucitol metabolism and LPS biosynthesis, it is suggested that A5P is not only a building block for KDO biosynthesis but also may be a regulatory molecule involved in expression of the gut operon.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicinal Chemistry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor 48109-1065, USA.
authors.forename: Timothy C
authors.initials: TC
authors.lastname: Meredith
authors.forename: Ronald W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Woodard
mesh_terms: D019747:Aldose-Ketose Isomerases / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism*; D048168:Escherichia coli K12 / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics*; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism*; D015964:Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial; D015971:Gene Expression Regulation, Enzymologic; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides / Q000096:biosynthesis; D009876:Operon / Q000502:physiology; D013012:Sorbitol / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides; C073627:srlQ protein, E coli; D013012:Sorbitol; D019747:Aldose-Ketose Isomerases; C477520:D-arabinose 5-phosphate isomerase, E coli