Induction of the ara Operon of Escherichia coli B/r

Open Access
Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
The inducer specificity and kinetics of induction of the ara operon were examined in Escherichia coli B/r. A difference in the kinetics of induction was found between our B/r strains and the K-12 strain previously described by Schleif. The roles of active transport and metabolism of inducer, and of cell density, in induction were studied. d -Fucose and β-methyl- l -arabinoside were competitive inhibitors of induction. No inducer of the wild-type strain other than l -arabinose was found. However, a procedure for selecting mutants with altered inducer affinity or specificity was developed. The properties of one such mutant (inducible by d -fucose) are described.