Gm. Cook et al., DUAL MECHANISMS OF XYLOSE UPTAKE IN THE THERMOPHILIC BACTERIUM THERMOANAEROBACTER-THERMOHYDROSULFURICUS, FEMS microbiology letters, 116(3), 1994, pp. 257-262
Thermoanaerobacter thermohydrosulfuricus Rt8.B1 catabolized xylose by
the pentose phosphate pathway, and xylose isomerase and xylulokinase w
ere inducible. The uptake of xylose was by two low-affinity, inducible
systems. Both systems were resistant to the protonophore, tetrachloro
salicylanilide, the F1F0-ATPase inhibitor, N,N-dicyclohexylcarboiimide
, and the sodium/proton antiporter, monensin. The high capacity system
(100 nmol min(-1) (mg protein)(-1)) was only expressed when the bacte
rium was grown with a high concentration of xylose (50 mM). It took mo
re than 60 mM xylose to saturate the high capacity system. When T. the
rmohydrosulfuricus was grown with a low concentration of xylose (5 mM)
, xylose uptake was saturated by as little as 10 mM xylose (18 nmol mi
n(-1) (mg protein)(-1)). Cells grown with 50 mM xylose could not trans
port glucose, and high capacity xylose transport was not inhibited by
glucose or non-metabolizable glucose analogues. Cells grown with 5 mM
xylose transported glucose at a rapid rate (30 nmol min(-1) (mg protei
n)(-1)), and low capacity xylose uptake was competitively inhibited by
either glucose or 2-deoxy-glucose. Because the glucose uptake of cell
s grown on 5 mM xylose was competitively inhibited by xylose, it appea
red that the low capacity xylose uptake system was a glucose/xylose ca
rrier.