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. 1969 Mar;97(3):1083–1092. doi: 10.1128/jb.97.3.1083-1092.1969

Corepressor System for Catabolite Repression of the lac Operon in Escherichia coli1

Walter J Dobrogosz a
PMCID: PMC249818  PMID: 4887497

Abstract

Acetylated amino sugars, normally used in the biosynthesis of cell walls and cell membranes, were found to play a role as corepressors for catabolite repression of the lac operon in Escherichia coli. This conclusion was derived from studies conducted on mutants of E. coli that were able to assimilate an exogenous source of N-acetylglucosamine (AcGN) but were unable to dissimilate or grow on this compound. At concentrations less than 10−4m, AcGN caused severe catabolite repression of β-galactosidase synthesis in cultures grown under either nonrepressed or partially repressed conditions. This repression occurred in the absence of any effect of AcGN on either the carbon and energy metabolism or the growth of the organism. In addition, this repression by AcGN occurred in a mutant strain that is constitutive for β-galactosidase production, demonstrating that the AcGN effect does not involve the uptake of inducer. This model for the corepressor system of catabolite repression is discussed in relation to the existing theories on repression of the lac operon.

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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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