Skip to main content
PMC home page
Journal of Bacteriology logoLink to Journal of Bacteriology
. 1994 Aug;176(15):4664–4668. doi: 10.1128/jb.176.15.4664-4668.1994

Why does Escherichia coli have two primary pathways for synthesis of glutamate?

R B Helling 1
PMCID: PMC196288  PMID: 7913929

Abstract

Escherichia coli has two primary pathways for glutamate synthetase-glutamate synthase pathway is known to be essential for synthesis at low ammonium concentrations and for regulation of the glutamine pool, but the necessity for glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH) has been uncertain. The results of competition experiments between the wild type and a GDH-deficient mutant during nutrient-limited growth and of direct enzyme measurements suggest that GDH is used in glutamate synthesis when the cell is limited for energy (and carbon) but ammonium and phosphate are present in excess, while the glutamine synthetase-glutamate synthase pathway is used when the cell is not under energy limitation. The use of alternative routes for glutamate synthesis implies that the energy cost of biosynthesis may be less when energy is limited than when energy is unlimited.

Full text

PDF
4664

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Berberich M. A. A glutamate-dependent phenotype in E. coli K12: the result of two mutations. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 1972 Jun 28;47(6):1498–1503. doi: 10.1016/0006-291x(72)90242-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Booth I. R., Higgins C. F. Enteric bacteria and osmotic stress: intracellular potassium glutamate as a secondary signal of osmotic stress? FEMS Microbiol Rev. 1990 Jun;6(2-3):239–246. doi: 10.1111/j.1574-6968.1990.tb04097.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Cayley S., Lewis B. A., Guttman H. J., Record M. T., Jr Characterization of the cytoplasm of Escherichia coli K-12 as a function of external osmolarity. Implications for protein-DNA interactions in vivo. J Mol Biol. 1991 Nov 20;222(2):281–300. doi: 10.1016/0022-2836(91)90212-o. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Cayley S., Lewis B. A., Record M. T., Jr Origins of the osmoprotective properties of betaine and proline in Escherichia coli K-12. J Bacteriol. 1992 Mar;174(5):1586–1595. doi: 10.1128/jb.174.5.1586-1595.1992. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Dinnbier U., Limpinsel E., Schmid R., Bakker E. P. Transient accumulation of potassium glutamate and its replacement by trehalose during adaptation of growing cells of Escherichia coli K-12 to elevated sodium chloride concentrations. Arch Microbiol. 1988;150(4):348–357. doi: 10.1007/BF00408306. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Feng J., Atkinson M. R., McCleary W., Stock J. B., Wanner B. L., Ninfa A. J. Role of phosphorylated metabolic intermediates in the regulation of glutamine synthetase synthesis in Escherichia coli. J Bacteriol. 1992 Oct;174(19):6061–6070. doi: 10.1128/jb.174.19.6061-6070.1992. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. He B., Choi K. Y., Zalkin H. Regulation of Escherichia coli glnB, prsA, and speA by the purine repressor. J Bacteriol. 1993 Jun;175(11):3598–3606. doi: 10.1128/jb.175.11.3598-3606.1993. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Helling R. B., Kinney T., Adams J. The maintenance of Plasmid-containing organisms in populations of Escherichia coli. J Gen Microbiol. 1981 Mar;123(1):129–141. doi: 10.1099/00221287-123-1-129. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Helling R. B. The glutamate dehydrogenase structural gene of Escherichia coli. Mol Gen Genet. 1990 Sep;223(3):508–512. doi: 10.1007/BF00264460. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Helling R. B., Vargas C. N., Adams J. Evolution of Escherichia coli during growth in a constant environment. Genetics. 1987 Jul;116(3):349–358. doi: 10.1093/genetics/116.3.349. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Jones K. M., McPherson M. J., Baron A. J., Mattaj I. W., Riordan C. L., Wootton J. C. The gdhA1 point mutation in Escherichia coli K12 CLR207 alters a key lysine residue of glutamate dehydrogenase. Mol Gen Genet. 1993 Aug;240(2):286–289. doi: 10.1007/BF00277068. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Larsen P. I., Sydnes L. K., Landfald B., Strøm A. R. Osmoregulation in Escherichia coli by accumulation of organic osmolytes: betaines, glutamic acid, and trehalose. Arch Microbiol. 1987 Feb;147(1):1–7. doi: 10.1007/BF00492896. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Liang A., Houghton R. L. Coregulation of oxidized nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (phosphate) transhydrogenase and glutamate dehydrogenase activities in enteric bacteria during nitrogen limitation. J Bacteriol. 1981 Jun;146(3):997–1002. doi: 10.1128/jb.146.3.997-1002.1981. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Liaw S. H., Pan C., Eisenberg D. Feedback inhibition of fully unadenylylated glutamine synthetase from Salmonella typhimurium by glycine, alanine, and serine. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1993 Jun 1;90(11):4996–5000. doi: 10.1073/pnas.90.11.4996. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. McLaggan D., Naprstek J., Buurman E. T., Epstein W. Interdependence of K+ and glutamate accumulation during osmotic adaptation of Escherichia coli. J Biol Chem. 1994 Jan 21;269(3):1911–1917. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Measures J. C. Role of amino acids in osmoregulation of non-halophilic bacteria. Nature. 1975 Oct 2;257(5525):398–400. doi: 10.1038/257398a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Meers J. L., Tempest D. W., Brown C. M. 'Glutamine(amide):2-oxoglutarate amino transferase oxido-reductase (NADP); an enzyme involved in the synthesis of glutamate by some bacteria. J Gen Microbiol. 1970 Dec;64(2):187–194. doi: 10.1099/00221287-64-2-187. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Meister A. Glutamate synthase from Escherichia coli, Klebsiella aerogenes, and Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Methods Enzymol. 1985;113:327–337. doi: 10.1016/s0076-6879(85)13045-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Metcalf W. W., Steed P. M., Wanner B. L. Identification of phosphate starvation-inducible genes in Escherichia coli K-12 by DNA sequence analysis of psi::lacZ(Mu d1) transcriptional fusions. J Bacteriol. 1990 Jun;172(6):3191–3200. doi: 10.1128/jb.172.6.3191-3200.1990. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Miller R. E., Stadtman E. R. Glutamate synthase from Escherichia coli. An iron-sulfide flavoprotein. J Biol Chem. 1972 Nov 25;247(22):7407–7419. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Pahel G., Zelenetz A. D., Tyler B. M. gltB gene and regulation of nitrogen metabolism by glutamine synthetase in Escherichia coli. J Bacteriol. 1978 Jan;133(1):139–148. doi: 10.1128/jb.133.1.139-148.1978. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Rao N. N., Roberts M. F., Torriani A., Yashphe J. Effect of glpT and glpD mutations on expression of the phoA gene in Escherichia coli. J Bacteriol. 1993 Jan;175(1):74–79. doi: 10.1128/jb.175.1.74-79.1993. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Servín-González L., Bastarrachea F. Nitrogen regulation of synthesis of the high affinity methylammonium transport system of Escherichia coli. J Gen Microbiol. 1984 Dec;130(12):3071–3077. doi: 10.1099/00221287-130-12-3071. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. Singer M., Baker T. A., Schnitzler G., Deischel S. M., Goel M., Dove W., Jaacks K. J., Grossman A. D., Erickson J. W., Gross C. A. A collection of strains containing genetically linked alternating antibiotic resistance elements for genetic mapping of Escherichia coli. Microbiol Rev. 1989 Mar;53(1):1–24. doi: 10.1128/mr.53.1.1-24.1989. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  25. Tempest D. W., Meers J. L., Brown C. M. Influence of environment on the content and composition of microbial free amino acid pools. J Gen Microbiol. 1970 Dec;64(2):171–185. doi: 10.1099/00221287-64-2-171. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  26. Weijland A., Parmeggiani A. Toward a model for the interaction between elongation factor Tu and the ribosome. Science. 1993 Feb 26;259(5099):1311–1314. doi: 10.1126/science.8446899. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  27. van Heeswijk W. C., Rabenberg M., Westerhoff H. V., Kahn D. The genes of the glutamine synthetase adenylylation cascade are not regulated by nitrogen in Escherichia coli. Mol Microbiol. 1993 Aug;9(3):443–457. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2958.1993.tb01706.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Journal of Bacteriology are provided here courtesy of American Society for Microbiology (ASM)

RESOURCES