Role of ATP-glucokinase and polyphosphate glucokinase in Streptomyces aureofaciens

The activity of ATP-glucokinase and of polyphosphate glucokinase was examined during growth of the actinomycete Streptomyces aureofaciens 8425 under conditions of intense chlortetracycline (CTC) synthesis. ATP-glucokinase was active in the strain only during the logarithmic phase of culture growth; the activity of polyphosphate glucokinase appears only at the end of the logarithmic phase of growth and rises in parallel with the rate of CTC biosynthesis in the stationary phase. During the rise of activity of polyphosphate glucokinase and of CTC biosynthesis the cells accumulate sugar phosphates, mainly glucose-6-phosphate. It appears that the biosynthesis of CTC in Streptomyces aureofaciens takes place at the expense of glycolysis, using up the high-energy phosphate of high-molecular polyphosphates.