Skip to main content
PMC home page
Journal of Bacteriology logoLink to Journal of Bacteriology
. 1971 Dec;108(3):1129–1134. doi: 10.1128/jb.108.3.1129-1134.1971

Regulation of Two Aspartokinases in Bacillus subtilis

Michael L Hampton a, Neil G McCormick a,1, Nancy C Behforouz a,2, Ernst Freese a
PMCID: PMC247196  PMID: 5003173

Abstract

When grown on minimal glucose medium, transformable Bacillus subtilis strains contained two distinct aspartokinases (ATP:l-aspartate 4-phosphotransferase, EC 2.7.2.4). One of these enzymes was inhibited by l-lysine (Lys), whereas the other was insensitive to inhibition but was activated by l-leucine. None of the other amino acids tested had any effect, and the addition of l-threonine did not enhance the inhibition by Lys, in contrast to the concerted inhibition observed for other bacilli. At the end of exponential growth, the Lys-sensitive aspartokinase activity decreased, whereas the Lys-insensitive activity remained relatively constant throughout the stationary phase. The two activities were separated by (NH4)2SO4 fractionation and Sephadex G-200 chromatography. Growth in the presence of Lys reduced the specific activity of aspartokinase by about 50% and eliminated the inhibition by Lys. In extracts of these cells, only Lys-insensitive activity was found upon (NH4)2SO4 fractionation and Sephadex G-200 chromatography. Lys apparently repressed the synthesis of the Lys-sensitive enzyme.

Full text

PDF
1129

Selected References

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

  1. Aronson A. I., Henderson E., Tincher A. Participation of the lysine pathway in dipicolinic acid synthesis in Bacillus cereus T. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 1967 Feb 21;26(4):454–460. doi: 10.1016/0006-291x(67)90568-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. BERNLOHR R. W., NOVELLI G. D. BACITRACIN BIOSYNTHESIS AND SPORE FORMATION: THE PHYSIOLOGICAL ROLE OF AN ANTIBIOTIC. Arch Biochem Biophys. 1963 Oct;103:94–104. doi: 10.1016/0003-9861(63)90014-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Bach M. L., Gilvarg C. Biosynthesis of dipicolinic acid in sporulating Bacillus megaterium. J Biol Chem. 1966 Oct 10;241(19):4563–4564. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. CHURCH B. D., HALVORSON H. Dependence of the heat resistance of bacterial endospores on their dipicolinic acid content. Nature. 1959 Jan 10;183(4654):124–125. doi: 10.1038/183124a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Chasin L. A., Szulmajster J. Biosynthesis of dipicolinic acid in Bacillus subtilis. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 1967 Dec 15;29(5):648–654. doi: 10.1016/0006-291x(67)90265-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. DATTA P., GEST H. CONTROL OF ENZYME ACTIVITY BY CONCERTED FEEDBACK INHIBITION. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1964 Oct;52:1004–1009. doi: 10.1073/pnas.52.4.1004. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Fukuda A., Gilvarg C. The relationship of dipicolinate and lysine biosynthesis in Bacillus megaterium. J Biol Chem. 1968 Jul 25;243(14):3871–3876. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Gray B. H., Bernlohr R. W. The regulation of aspartokinase in Bacillus licheniformis. Biochim Biophys Acta. 1969 Apr 22;178(2):248–261. doi: 10.1016/0005-2744(69)90394-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. LOWRY O. H., ROSEBROUGH N. J., FARR A. L., RANDALL R. J. Protein measurement with the Folin phenol reagent. J Biol Chem. 1951 Nov;193(1):265–275. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. PAULUS H., GRAY E. MULTIVALENT FEEDBACK INHIBITION OF ASPARTOKINASE IN BACILLUS POLYMYXA. J Biol Chem. 1964 Nov;239:PC4008–PC4009. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Paulus H., Gray E. Multivalent feedback inhibition of aspartokinase in Bacillus polymyxa. I. Kinetic studies. J Biol Chem. 1967 Nov 10;242(21):4980–4986. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Robert-Gero M., Poiret M., Cohen G. N. The aspartate kinase of Pseudomonas putida. Regulation of synthesis and activity. Biochim Biophys Acta. 1970 Apr 22;206(1):17–30. doi: 10.1016/0005-2744(70)90077-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Stahly D. P., Bernlohr R. W. Control of aspartokinase during development of Bacillus licheniformis. Biochim Biophys Acta. 1967;146(2):467–476. doi: 10.1016/0005-2744(67)90230-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Sugae K., Freese E. Requirement for Acetate and Glycine (or Serine) for Sporulation Without Growth of Bacillus subtilis. J Bacteriol. 1970 Dec;104(3):1074–1085. doi: 10.1128/jb.104.3.1074-1085.1970. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

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

RESOURCES