Sucrose utilisation in bacteria: genetic organisation and regulation

Sucrose is the most abundant disaccharide in the environment because of its origin in higher plant tissues, and many Eubacteria possess catalytic enzymes, such as the sucrose-6-phosphate hydrolases and sucrose phosphorylases, that enable them to metabolise this carbohydrate in a regulated manner. This review describes the range of gene architecture, uptake systems, catabolic activity and regulation of the sucrose-utilisation regulons that have been reported in the Eubacteria to date. Evidence is presented that, although there are many common features to these gene clusters and high conservation of the proteins involved, there has been a certain degree of gene shuffling. Phylogenetic analyses of these proteins supports the hypothesis that these clusters have been acquired through horizontal gene transfer via mobile elements and transposons, and this may have enabled the recipient bacteria to colonise sucrose-rich environmental niches.