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. 1973 Aug;115(2):673–681. doi: 10.1128/jb.115.2.673-681.1973

Specificity of the Tyrosine-Phenylalanine Transport System in Bacillus subtilis

Steven M D'Ambrosio 1, George I Glover 1, Stephen O Nelson 1, Roy A Jensen 1
PMCID: PMC246299  PMID: 4199137

Abstract

l-Tyrosine and l-phenylalanine enter cells of Bacillus subtilis via a system of active transport that exhibits complex kinetic behavior. The specificity of the transport system was characterized both at low concentrations of transport substrate (where affinity for l-tyrosine or l-phenylalanine is high but capacity is low) and at high concentrations (where affinity is low but capacity is high). Specificity was not found to differ significantly as a function of either l-tyrosine or l-phenylalanine concentration. Kinetic analysis showed that the relationship between the uptake of l-phenylalanine and l-tyrosine is strictly competitive. Neither l-tyrosine nor l-phenylalanine uptake was competitively inhibited by other naturally occurring l-amino acids, indicating the importance of the phenyl side chain to uptake specificity. Hence, it is concluded that l-tyrosine and l-phenylalanine are transported by a common system that is specific for these two amino acids. The abilities of analogue derivatives of l-tyrosine and l-phenylalanine to inhibit the uptake of l-[14C]tyrosine and l-[14C]phenylalanine competitively were determined throughout a wide range of substrate and inhibitor concentrations. In this manner, the contributions of the side chain, the α-amino group and the carboxyl group to uptake specificity were established. It is concluded that the positively charged α-amino group contributes more significantly to uptake specificity than does the negatively charged carboxyl group. The recognition of a phenyl ring is an essential feature of specificity; other amino acids with aromatic side chains, such as the indole and imidazole rings of l-tryptophan and l-histidine, do not compete with l-tyrosine and l-phenylalanine for uptake. The presence of the p-hydroxy substitutent in the side chain (as in l-tyrosine) enhances the uptake of the aryl amino acid analogues investigated.

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Selected References

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

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