A route for fructose utilization by Escherichia coli involving the fucose regulon.
Fructose can be taken up by Escherichia coli via a variety of membrane-spanning proteins that recognize sugars with the 3,4,5-d-arabino-hexose configuration. Here, we describe a mutant that is devoid of those proteins but takes up fructose via the FucP carrier normally used for the transport of alpha-L-fucose; this implies that the fructose is taken up in the alpha- or beta-fructopyranose form. For growth, the assimilated fructose is sequentially phosphorylated by ATP and (i) manno(fructo)kinase, to form fructose 6-phosphate, and (ii) phosphofructokinase, to form fructose 1,6-bisphosphate, which is a member of central routes of glycolysis and gluconeogenesis. The mutation that confers on the organism the ability to take up fructose via the fucose regulon was located as a deletion of the fucA gene with consequent induction of the proton-linked fucose transporter, FucP.
Kornberg
Hans
H
Biology Department, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA. hlk@bu.edu
Lourenco
Christopher
C
D002250:Carbon Radioisotopes; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D005632:Fructose / Q000378:metabolism*; D005634:Fructose-Bisphosphate Aldolase / Q000235:genetics; D017353:Gene Deletion; D015394:Molecular Structure; D018085:Regulon / Q000235:genetics*; D027981:Symporters / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
D002250:Carbon Radioisotopes; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins; C088688:FucP protein, E coli; D027981:Symporters; D005632:Fructose; C491231:fucA protein, E coli; D005634:Fructose-Bisphosphate Aldolase