Genomic analysis of the phosphotransferase system in Clostridium botulinum

Clostridium botulinum is capable of fermenting carbohydrates, but there have been no detailed studies of the uptake of sugars and related substrates. In bacteria, a common and often predominant system of carbohydrate uptake is the phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP)-dependent phosphotransferase system (PTS). This multi-protein complex catalyses a group translocation involving both uptake and phosphorylation of carbohydrates, and is also known to play an important role in environmental sensing and metabolic regulation. The genome of C. botulinum encodes 15 PTSs which have a similar domain structure to the PTS in other bacteria. Based on phylogenetic relationships and analysis of gene clusters, the C. botulinum PTS appears to be involved in the uptake of hexoses, hexose derivatives and disaccharides. C. botulinum also contains the components of PTS-associated regulatory mechanisms which have been characterised in other bacteria. It therefore seems likely that the PTS plays a significant, and previously unrecognised, role in the physiology of this bacterium.