Phosphate transfer between acetate kinase and enzyme I of the bacterial phosphotransferase system

Interactions between homogeneous acetate kinase and proteins of the phosphoenolpyruvate:glucose phosphotransferase system (PTS) were studied. The phosphorylation of D-glucose was followed spectrophotometrically using a coupled assay system, and acetate kinase and GTP were found to substitute for phosphoenolpyruvate provided that each of the PTS proteins was present in the mixture. To further define the phosphoryl transfer reaction pathway, the system was simplified to include only the homogeneous, soluble PTS proteins. 32P was transferred from [gamma-32P]ATP to the protein IIIGlc, but this transfer reaction required acetate kinase, and the PTS proteins Enzyme I and HPr. These results suggested that acetate kinase interacts with the first protein in the PTS sequence, Enzyme I. Acetate kinase was therefore incubated with [32P] phospho-Enzyme I, and a direct transfer of the phosphoryl group was observed without the addition of any other protein. These results show that there is a reversible transfer of the phosphoryl group between Enzyme I and acetate kinase. The possible role of this interaction in regulating sugar uptake by the Krebs cycle is discussed.