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  • Title: The role of isocitrate lyase and the glyoxylate cycle in Escherichia coli growing under glucose limitation.
    Author: Prasad Maharjan R, Yu PL, Seeto S, Ferenci T.
    Journal: Res Microbiol; 2005 Mar; 156(2):178-83. PubMed ID: 15748982.
    Abstract:
    Escherichia coli changes its metabolism in response to environmental circumstances, and metabolic adaptations are evident in hungry bacteria growing slowly in glucose-limited chemostats. The role of isocitrate lyase (AceA) was examined in E. coli growing under glucose limitation. AceA activity was elevated in a strain-dependent manner in the commonly used E. coli K-12 laboratory strains MG1655 and MC4100, but an aceA disruption surprisingly increased fitness under glucose limitation in both strains. However, in bacteria adapted to limiting glucose in long-term chemostats, mutations outside aceA changed its role from a negative to a positive influence. These results suggest that a recently proposed pathway of central metabolism involving the glyoxylate cycle enzymes is redundant in wild-type bacteria, but may take on a beneficial role after context adaptation. Interestingly, the aceA gene sequence did not alter during prolonged selection, so mutations in unidentified genes changed the metabolic context of unaltered AceA from a negative to a positive influence in bacteria highly adapted to limiting glucose.
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