Figure 5.

The direct detection of glucose metabolism in Escherichia coli strains shows the accumulation of a lactone intermediate of the pentose phosphate pathway in strain BL21 (A,B) due to the absence of the lactonase in the BL21 genome, thus affording genomic probing by direct observation of intracellular reaction kinetics; Glc6P = glucose 6-phosphate; PGL = 6-phosphogluconolactone. (C) Accumulation of the lactone occurs in a growth phase dependent manner due to reduced usage of a hyperpolarized glucose probe in biosynthetic pathways as cells approach the stationary phase.