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. 1962 Jul;84(1):137–146. doi: 10.1128/jb.84.1.137-146.1962

l-ARABINOSE-SENSITIVE, l-RIBULOSE 5-PHOSPHATE 4-EPIMERASE-DEFICIENT MUTANTS OF ESCHERICHIA COLI

E Englesberg 1,2, R L Anderson 1,2, R Weinberg 1,2, N Lee 1,2, P Hoffee 1,2, G Huttenhauer 1,2, H Boyer 1,2
PMCID: PMC277779  PMID: 13890280

Abstract

Englesberg, E. (University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pa.), R L. Anderson, R. Weinberg, N. Lee, P. Hoffee, G. Huttenhauer, and H. Boyer. l-Arabinose-sensitive, l-ribulose 5-phosphate 4-epimerase-deficient mutants of Escherichia coli. J. Bacteriol. 84:137–146. 1962—l-Arabinose-negative mutants of Escherichia coli B/r, ara-53 and ara-139, are deficient in the enzyme l-ribulose 5-phosphate 4-epimerase; ara-53, further analyzed, accumulates large quantities of l-ribulose 5-phosphate when incubated with l-arabinose. The mutant sites are closely linked to the left of the previously ordered l-arabinose mutant sites, and probably represent the structural gene for l-ribulose 5-phosphate 4-epimerase (gene D) in the l-arabinose operon. The inducible levels of l-arabinose isomerase and l-ribulose 5-phosphate 4-epimerase vary correspondingly as a result of mutation in the structural gene for l-ribulokinase (gene B), further substantiating the dual structural and regulatory function of this gene locus. Ara-53 and ara-139 are strongly inhibited by l-arabinose and give rise to l-arabinose-resistant mutants. The one resistant mutant analyzed still lacks the 4-epimerase but is deficient in l-ribulokinase and has increased l-arabinose isomerase activity, a characteristic of a type of mutation in the B gene. It is proposed that accumulation of l-ribulose 5-phosphate is responsible for the inhibition, and that mutation to resistance will involve mutation in the A, B, C, permease, or repressor genes, thus providing a direct method for isolating these types of l-arabinose-negative mutants. Glucose prevents and cures the l-arabinose inhibition.

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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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