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Evidence of an association between poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) accumulation and phosphotransbutyrylase expression in Bacillus megaterium

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Abstract

Molecular analysis of a genomic region of Bacillus megaterium, a polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB)-producing microorganism, revealed the presence of a gene coding for the enzyme phosphotransbutyrylase (Ptb). Enzyme activity was measured throughout the different growth phases of B. megaterium and was found to correlate with PHB accumulation during the late-exponential growth phase. Ptb expression was repressed by glucose and activated by the branched amino acids isoleucine and valine. Overexpression of Act Bm , a σ54 regulator from B. megaterium whose gene is located upstream from ptb, caused an increase in Ptb activity and PHB accumulation in B. megaterium.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by grants from the Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBA) and Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET). GJV had a graduate student fellowship from UBA. BSM is a career investigator from CONICET.

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  1. Gustavo J. Vazquez

    Present address: Microbiology Laboratory, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Environmental Sciences Department, Upton, New York, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Química Biológica, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Gustavo J. Vazquez, M. Julia Pettinari & Beatriz S. Méndez

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  1. Gustavo J. Vazquez
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  2. M. Julia Pettinari
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  3. Beatriz S. Méndez
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Correspondence to Beatriz S. Méndez.

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Vazquez, G.J., Pettinari, M.J. & Méndez, B.S. Evidence of an association between poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) accumulation and phosphotransbutyrylase expression in Bacillus megaterium . Int Microbiol 6, 127–129 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10123-003-0120-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10123-003-0120-5

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