Abstract
The role of β-galactosidase repression in glucose inhibition of lactose utilization was studied inEscherichia coli. Escherichia coli 3300 constitutively produces β-galactosidase even in the presence of glucose. When this strain was grown in a mixture of glucose and lactose, lactose utilization did not occur until glucose was depleted. The addition of glucose to a 3300 culture grown in lactose immediately caused a permanent inhibition of lactose utilization and only a mild transient repression of β-galactosidase. Exogenous cyclic adenosine monophosphate (AMP) did not overcome the glucose inhibition of lactose utilization but did relieve the transient repression. Thus glucose inhibition of lactose utilization is not related to β-galactosidase repression and is independent of cyclic AMP.
Similar content being viewed by others
Literature Cited
Bollum, F. J. 1968. Filter paper disk techniques for assaying radioactive macromolecules, pp. 169–173. In: Grossman, L., Moldave, K. (eds.), Methods in enzymology, vol. 12 part B. New York, London: Academic Press.
Epstein, W., Naono, S., Gros, F. 1966. Synthesis of enzymes of the lactose operon during diauxic growth ofEscherichia coli. Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications24:588–592.
Khan, S. R., Yamazaki, H. 1974. Inapparent correlation between guanosine tetraphosphate levels and RNA contents inEscherichia coli. Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications59:125–132.
Magasanik, B. 1970. Glucose effects: Inducer exclusion and repression, pp. 189–219. In: Beckwith, J. R., Zipser, D. (eds.), The lactose operon. New York: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
Miller, J. H. 1972. Experiments in molecular genetics. New York: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
Naono, S., Rouvière, J., Gros, F. 1965. Preferential transcription of the lactose operon during the diauxic growth ofEscherichia coli. Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications,18:664–674.
Okada, T., Ueyama, K., Niiya, S., Kanazawa, H., Futai, M., Tsuchiya, T. 1981. Role of inducer exclusion in preferential utilization of glucose over melibiose in diauxic growth ofEscherichia coli. Journal of Bacteriology146:1030–1037.
Pardee, A. B., Jacob, F., Monod, J. 1959. The genetic control and cytoplasmic expression of “inducibility” in the synthesis of β-galactosidase byE. coli. Journal of Molecular Biology1:165–178.
Pastan, I., Perlman, R. 1970. Cyclic adenosine monophosphate in bacteria. Science169:339–344.
Tyler, B., Loomis, W. F., Jr., Magasanik, B. 1967. Transient repression of thelac operon. Journal of Bacteriology94:2001–2011.
Ullmann, A., Danchin, A. 1982. Role of cyclic AMP in bacteria, in press. In: Greengard, P., Robison, G. A. (eds.), Advances in cyclic nucleotide research, vol. 15. New York: Raven Press.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Fraser, A.D.E., Yamazaki, H. Significance of β-galactosidase repression in glucose inhibition of lactose utilization inEscherichia coli . Current Microbiology 7, 241–244 (1982). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01568806
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01568806