title: A genomic view of sugar transport in Mycobacterium smegmatis and Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
abstract: We present a comprehensive analysis of carbohydrate uptake systems of the soil bacterium Mycobacterium smegmatis and the human pathogen Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Our results show that M. smegmatis has 28 putative carbohydrate transporters. The majority of sugar transport systems (19/28) in M. smegmatis belong to the ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporter family. In contrast to previous reports, we identified genes encoding all components of the phosphotransferase system (PTS), including permeases for fructose, glucose, and dihydroxyacetone, in M. smegmatis. It is anticipated that the PTS of M. smegmatis plays an important role in the global control of carbon metabolism similar to those of other bacteria. M. smegmatis further possesses one putative glycerol facilitator of the major intrinsic protein family, four sugar permeases of the major facilitator superfamily, one of which was assigned as a glucose transporter, and one galactose permease of the sodium solute superfamily. Our predictions were validated by gene expression, growth, and sugar transport analyses. Strikingly, we detected only five sugar permeases in the slow-growing species M. tuberculosis, two of which occur in M. smegmatis. Genes for a PTS are missing in M. tuberculosis. Our analysis thus brings the diversity of carbohydrate uptake systems of fast- and a slow-growing mycobacteria to light, which reflects the lifestyles of M. smegmatis and M. tuberculosis in their natural habitats, the soil and the human body, respectively.
authors.affiliation: Lehrstuhl für Mikrobiologie, Friedrich Alexander Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Staudtstrasse 5, D-91058 Erlangen, Germany. fritz.titgemeyer@googlemail.com
authors.forename: Fritz
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Titgemeyer
authors.forename: Johannes
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Amon
authors.forename: Stephan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Parche
authors.forename: Maysa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mahfoud
authors.forename: Johannes
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bail
authors.forename: Maximilian
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Schlicht
authors.forename: Nadine
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Rehm
authors.forename: Dietmar
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Hillmann
authors.forename: Joachim
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Stephan
authors.forename: Britta
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Walter
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Burkovski
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Niederweis
mesh_terms: D001692:Biological Transport; D050260:Carbohydrate Metabolism; D002241:Carbohydrates; D015964:Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial; D026901:Membrane Transport Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D020102:Mycobacterium smegmatis / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D009169:Mycobacterium tuberculosis / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D010731:Phosphoenolpyruvate Sugar Phosphotransferase System / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D002241:Carbohydrates; D026901:Membrane Transport Proteins; D010731:Phosphoenolpyruvate Sugar Phosphotransferase System