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. 1973 Oct;116(1):355–366. doi: 10.1128/jb.116.1.355-366.1973

Regulation of Phospholipid Synthesis in Escherichia coli by Guanosine Tetraphosphate

John P Merlie a,1, Lewis I Pizer a
PMCID: PMC246430  PMID: 4583220

Abstract

Phospholipid synthesis has been reported to be subject to stringent control in Escherichia coli. We present evidence that demonstrates a strict correlation between guanosine tetraphosphate accumulation and inhibition of phospholipid synthesis. In vivo experiments designed to examine the pattern of phospholipid labeling with 32P-inorganic phosphate and 32P-sn-glycerol-3-phosphate suggest that regulation must occur at the glycerol-3-phosphate acyltransferase step. Assay of phospholipid synthesis by cell-free extracts and semipurified preparations revealed that guanosine tetraphosphate inhibits at least two enzymes specific for the biosynthetic pathway, sn-glycerol-3-phosphate acyltransferase as well as sn-glycerol-3-phosphate phosphatidyl transferase. These findings provide a biochemical basis for the stringent control of lipid synthesis as well as regulation of steady-state levels of phospholipid in growing cells.

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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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