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Sugar transport systems in Corynebacterium glutamicum: features and applications to strain development

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Abstract

Corynebacterium glutamicum uses the phosphoenolpyruvate-dependent sugar phosphotransferase system (PTS) to take up and phosphorylate glucose, fructose, and sucrose, the major sugars from agricultural crops that are used as the primary feedstocks for industrial amino acid fermentation. This means that worldwide amino acid production using this organism has depended exclusively on the PTS. Recently, a better understanding not only of PTS-mediated sugar uptake but also of global regulation associated with the PTS has permitted the correction of certain negative aspects of this sugar transport system for amino acid production. In addition, the recent identification of different glucose uptake systems in this organism has led to a strategy for the generation of C. glutamicum strains that express non-PTS routes instead of the original PTS. The potential practical advantages of the development of such strains are discussed.

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Acknowledgments

I would like to acknowledge all my co-workers, especially Seiki Takeno, Yuta Mizuno, Shin-ichi Awane, Masahiro Hayashi, Norio Noguchi, Masakazu Ohshita, Satoshi Mitsuhashi, and Mikiro Hayashi. I also thank Yasuo Ueda, Shin-ichi Hashimoto, Satoshi Koizumi, and Tatsuya Ogawa for their encouraging support of our research.

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  1. Department of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Faculty of Agriculture, Shinshu University, Nagano, 399-4598, Japan

    Masato Ikeda

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Correspondence to Masato Ikeda.

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Ikeda, M. Sugar transport systems in Corynebacterium glutamicum: features and applications to strain development. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 96, 1191–1200 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-012-4488-z

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