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. 1973 Sep;115(3):1003–1010. doi: 10.1128/jb.115.3.1003-1010.1973

Characterization of Invertase Activity from Cariogenic Streptococcus mutans

Howard K Kuramitsu 1
PMCID: PMC246348  PMID: 4353868

Abstract

Invertase activity from Streptococcus mutans GS-5 has been partially purified and shown to possess β-fructofuranosidase specificity. The enzyme has a broad pH optimum between pH 5.5 and 7.5 and exhibits maximal activity at 37 C. Fructose, but not the glucose analogue α-methyl-d-glucoside, acts as a competitive inhibitor of the enzyme. None of the common glycolytic intermediates or adenine nucleotides had any significant effect on enzyme activity. A molecular weight of approximately 47,000 was estimated for the enzyme. The enzyme does not appear to be catabolically repressed by glucose nor inducible by sucrose. Higher specific activities of the enzyme are observed in fructose or glucose-grown cells compared to sucrose-grown cells. These results are discussed in terms of the regulation of invertase activity in vivo.

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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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