Multiple mechanisms controlling carbon metabolism in bacteria

• Published in: Biotechnology and bioengineering Vol. 58; no. 2-3; pp. 170 - 174
• Main Author: Saier Jr, Milton H.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hoboken Wiley Subscription Services, Inc., A Wiley Company 20.04.1998
• Subjects: Bacillus subtilis - metabolism; Bacteria - metabolism; Carbon - metabolism; catabolite repression; Escherichia coli - metabolism; inducer exclusion; inducer expulsion; Models, Biological; Phosphoenolpyruvate Sugar Phosphotransferase System - metabolism; phosphotransferase system; protein kinase; transcriptional regulation; transport regulation
• ISSN: 0006-3592; 1097-0290
• DOI: 10.1002/(SICI)1097-0290(19980420)58:2/3<170::AID-BIT9>3.0.CO;2-I

Catabolite repression is a universal phenomenon, found in virtually all living organisms. These organisms range from the simplest bacteria to higher fungi, plants, and animals. A mechanism involving cyclic AMP and its receptor protein (CRP) in Escherichia coli was established years ago, and this mechanism has been assumed by many to serve as the prototype for catabolite repression in all organisms. However, recent studies have shown that this mechanism is restricted to enteric bacteria and their close relatives. Cyclic AMP‐independent mechanisms of catabolite repression occur in other bacteria, yeast, plants, and even E. coli. In fact, single‐celled organisms such as E. coli, Bacillus subtilis, and Saccharomyces cerevisiae exhibit multiple mechanisms of catabolite repression, and most of these are cyclic AMP‐independent. The mechanistic features of the best of such characterized processes are briefly reviewed, and references are provided that will allow the reader to delve more deeply into these subjects. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Biotechnol Bioeng 58:170–174, 1998.