Two classes of pleiotropic mutants of Aerobacter aerogenes lacking components of a phosphoenolpyruvate-dependent phosphotransferase system.

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Two classes of pleiotropic mutants of A. aerogenes with multiple defects in sugar and hexitol utilization were isolated. One mutant lacks the enzyme I and another lacks the histidine protein (HPr) of the phosphoenolpyruvate-dependent phosphotransferase system. Both mutants do not grow on D-mannitol and D-sorbitol and grow slowly or very poorly on D-glucose, D-mannose, D-fructose or maltose. Neither mutant is able to accumulate significant amounts of radioactive material when incubated with C14-D-mannitol, even after growth in the presence of 2% D-mannitol. A spontaneous revertant selected on a single Ca source was isolated from each mutant. All the other pleiotropic defects were corrected in the revertant. A model for the role of this phosphotransferase in active transport is proposed.