We previously observed secretion of active-form transglutaminase in Corynebacterium glutamicum by coexpressing the subtilisin-like protease SAM-P45 from Streptomyces albogriseolus to process the prodomain. However, the N-terminal amino acid sequence of the transglutaminase differed from that of the native Streptoverticillium mobaraense enzyme. In the present work we have used site-directed muta...

From a Corynebacterium glutamicum mutant possessing a homoserine dehydrogenase resistant to feedback inhibition by L-threonine, the corresponding gene (homFBR) was analyzed and compared with the wild-type hom gene. DNA fragment exchange experiments between both genes showed that a 0.23-kb region close to the 3' terminus of homFBR was responsible for deregulation. Nucleotide sequence analysis re...

In addition to phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PEPCx), pyruvate carboxylase (PCx) has recently been found as an anaplerotic enzyme in the amino-acid-producing bacterium Corynebacterium glutamicum. Using oligonucleotides designed according to conserved regions of PCx amino acid sequences from other organisms, a 200 bp fragment central to the C. glutamicum PCx gene (pyc) was amplified from genom...

BACKGROUND Gamma-aminobutylate (GABA) is an important chemical in pharmacetucal field and chemical industry. GABA has mostly been produced in lactic acid bacteria by adding L-glutamate to the culture medium since L-glutamate can be converted into GABA by inherent L-glutamate decarboxylase. Recently, GABA has gained much attention for the application as a major building block for the synthesis o...

Citrate reversal of iodoacetate inhibition of glutamate synthesis is nonmetabolic. Reversal of fluoride inhibition is metabolic, occurring only at low Mg concentrations.

Complex III in C. glutamicum has an unusual di-heme cyt. c1 and it co-purifies with complex IV in a supercomplex. Here, we investigated the kinetics of electron transfer within this supercomplex and in the cyt. aa3 alone (cyt. bc1 was removed genetically). In the reaction of the reduced cyt. aa3 with O2, we identified the same sequence of events as with other A-type oxidases. However, even thou...

Shikimate can be utilized as the sole source of carbon and energy of Corynebacterium glutamicum. Although biosynthesis and degradation of shikimate are well characterized in C. glutamicum, the transport of shikimate has hardly been studied. A mutant strain deficient in cgR_2523 loses the ability to grow on shikimate as well as to consume extracellular shikimate, indicating that the gene is invo...

The cryptic multicopy plasmid pGA1 (4,826 bp) from Corynebacterium glutamicum LP-6 belongs to the fifth group of rolling-circle-replicating plasmids. A determinant, which negatively controls pGA1 replication, was localized in the leader region of the rep gene coding for the initiator of plasmid replication. This region, when cloned into the compatible vector pEC6, was found to cause decrease of...

The metabolism of monocarboxylic acids is of central importance for bacteria in their natural habitat as well as during biotechnological production. Although biosynthesis and degradation are well understood, the transport of such compounds is still a matter of discussion. Here we present the identification and characterization of a new transport system in Corynebacterium glutamicum with high af...

Faithful segregation of chromosomes and plasmids is a vital prerequisite to produce viable and genetically identical progeny. Bacteria use a specialized segregation system composed of the partitioning proteins ParA and ParB to segregate certain plasmids. Strikingly, homologues of ParA and ParB are found to be encoded in many chromosomes. Although mutations in the chromosomal Par system have eff...