Glucose-1-phosphate-negative mutant of Agrobacterium tumefaciens

Glucose-1-phosphate-negative mutants that are unable to grow in a synthetic medium containing glucose-1-phosphate (G-1-P) as a sole carbon source were isolated by treatment of Agrobacterium tumefaciens IAM 1525 with N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine. All of the enzymes involved in G-1-P metabolism (glucoside-3-dehydrogenase, 3-ketoglucose-1-phosphate-degrading enzyme, alpha-glucosidase, and phosphatases) were detected in the sonic extract prepared from resting cells of one of the mutants, strain M-24, in approximately equal levels to those in the parent strain. Resting cells of the mutant oxidized G-1-P to 3-ketoglucose-1-phosphate (3KG-1-P), the first product in G-1-P metabolism by the bacterium, with little subsequent degradation, whereas the parent showed further degradation of G-1-P via 3KG-1-P. Glucoside-3-dehydrogenase catalyzing 3-ketoglucoside formation was readily released from cells by osmotic shock, whereas the 3KG-1-P-degrading enzyme was not released. Thus, the former and the latter enzymes might be at different intracellular loci, such as periplasm and cytoplasm, respectively. It is suggested that the mutant strain M-24 is a G-1-P-negative mutant deficient in a 3KG-1-P transport system located on the cytoplasmic membrane.