scholarly journals Natural Variation in Preparation for Nutrient Depletion Reveals a Cost-Benefit Tradeoff

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jue Wang ◽  
Esha Atolia ◽  
Bo Hua ◽  
Yonatan Savir ◽  
Renan Escalante-Chong ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Sources ◽  
Cost Benefit ◽  
Growth Delay ◽  
Growth Strategies ◽  
Galactose Metabolism ◽  
Induction Kinetics ◽  
Gal Genes ◽  
Diauxic Lag ◽  
Time Varying Environment ◽  
Galactose Utilization

Maximizing growth and survival in the face of a complex, time-varying environment is a common problem for single-celled organisms in the wild. When offered two different sugars as carbon sources, microorganisms first consume the preferred sugar, then undergo a transient growth delay, the “diauxic lag”, while inducing genes to metabolize the less preferred sugar. This delay is commonly assumed to be an inevitable consequence of selection to maximize use of the preferred sugar. Contrary to this view, we found that many natural isolates of Saccharomyces cerevisiae display short or non-existent diauxic lags when grown in mixtures of glucose (preferred) and galactose. These strains induce galactose-utilization (GAL) genes hours before glucose exhaustion, thereby “preparing” for the transition from glucose to galactose metabolism. The extent of preparation varies across strains, and seems to be determined by the steady-state response of GAL genes to mixtures of glucose and galactose rather than by induction kinetics. Although early GAL induction gives strains a competitive advantage once glucose runs out, it comes at a cost while glucose is still present. Costs and benefits correlate with the degree of preparation: strains with higher expression of GAL genes prior to glucose exhaustion experience a larger upfront growth cost but also a shorter diauxic lag. Our results show that classical diauxic growth is only one extreme on a continuum of growth strategies constrained by a cost-benefit tradeoff. This type of continuum is likely to be common in nature, as similar tradeoffs can arise whenever cells evolve to use mixtures of nutrients.

scholarly journals Towards Enhanced Galactose Utilization by Lactococcus lactis

2010 ◽  
Vol 76 (21) ◽  
pp. 7048-7060 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana R. Neves ◽  
Wietske A. Pool ◽  
Ana Solopova ◽  
Jan Kok ◽  
Helena Santos ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Lactococcus Lactis ◽  
Poor Quality ◽  
Genetically Engineered ◽  
Phosphotransferase System ◽  
Galactose Metabolism ◽  
Gene Encoding ◽  
Leloir Pathway ◽  
Lactose Fermentation ◽  
Consumption Rates ◽  
Galactose Utilization

ABSTRACT Accumulation of galactose in dairy products due to partial lactose fermentation by lactic acid bacteria yields poor-quality products and precludes their consumption by individuals suffering from galactosemia. This study aimed at extending our knowledge of galactose metabolism in Lactococcus lactis, with the final goal of tailoring strains for enhanced galactose consumption. We used directed genetically engineered strains to examine galactose utilization in strain NZ9000 via the chromosomal Leloir pathway (gal genes) or the plasmid-encoded tagatose 6-phosphate (Tag6P) pathway (lac genes). Galactokinase (GalK), but not galactose permease (GalP), is essential for growth on galactose. This finding led to the discovery of an alternative route, comprising a galactose phosphotransferase system (PTS) and a phosphatase, for galactose dissimilation in NZ9000. Introduction of the Tag6P pathway in a galPMK mutant restored the ability to metabolize galactose but did not sustain growth on this sugar. The latter strain was used to prove that lacFE, encoding the lactose PTS, is necessary for galactose metabolism, thus implicating this transporter in galactose uptake. Both PTS transporters have a low affinity for galactose, while GalP displays a high affinity for the sugar. Furthermore, the GalP/Leloir route supported the highest galactose consumption rate. To further increase this rate, we overexpressed galPMKT, but this led to a substantial accumulation of α-galactose 1-phosphate and α-glucose 1-phosphate, pointing to a bottleneck at the level of α-phosphoglucomutase. Overexpression of a gene encoding α-phosphoglucomutase alone or in combination with gal genes yielded strains with galactose consumption rates enhanced up to 50% relative to that of NZ9000. Approaches to further improve galactose metabolism are discussed.

scholarly journals Galactose Metabolism Plays a Crucial Role in Biofilm Formation by Bacillus subtilis

mBio ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yunrong Chai ◽  
Pascale B. Beauregard ◽  
Hera Vlamakis ◽  
Richard Losick ◽  
Roberto Kolter
Keyword(s):  
Bacillus Subtilis ◽  
Biofilm Formation ◽  
Carbon Sources ◽  
Galactose Metabolism ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Leloir Pathway ◽  
The Matrix ◽  
Living Organisms ◽  
Galactose Metabolites ◽  
Biofilm Matrix

ABSTRACTGalactose is a common monosaccharide that can be utilized by all living organisms via the activities of three main enzymes that make up the Leloir pathway: GalK, GalT, and GalE. InBacillus subtilis, the absence of GalE causes sensitivity to exogenous galactose, leading to rapid cell lysis. This effect can be attributed to the accumulation of toxic galactose metabolites, since thegalEmutant is blocked in the final step of galactose catabolism. In a screen for suppressor mutants restoring viability to agalEnull mutant in the presence of galactose, we identified mutations insinR, which is the major biofilm repressor gene. These mutations caused an increase in the production of the exopolysaccharide (EPS) component of the biofilm matrix. We propose that UDP-galactose is the toxic galactose metabolite and that it is used in the synthesis of EPS. Thus, EPS production can function as a shunt mechanism for this toxic molecule. Additionally, we demonstrated that galactose metabolism genes play an essential role inB. subtilisbiofilm formation and that the expressions of both thegalandepsgenes are interrelated. Finally, we propose thatB. subtilisand other members of theBacillusgenus may have evolved to utilize naturally occurring polymers of galactose, such as galactan, as carbon sources.IMPORTANCEBacteria switch from unicellular to multicellular states by producing extracellular matrices that contain exopolysaccharides. In such aggregates, known as biofilms, bacteria are more resistant to antibiotics. This makes biofilms a serious problem in clinical settings. The resilience of biofilms makes them very useful in industrial settings. Thus, understanding the production of biofilm matrices is an important problem in microbiology. In studying the synthesis of the biofilm matrix ofBacillus subtilis, we provide further understanding of a long-standing microbiological observation that certain mutants defective in the utilization of galactose became sensitive to it. In this work, we show that the toxicity observed before was because cells were grown under conditions that were not propitious to produce the exopolysaccharide component of the matrix. When cells are grown under conditions that favor matrix production, the toxicity of galactose is relieved. This allowed us to demonstrate that galactose metabolism is essential for the synthesis of the extracellular matrix.

scholarly journals GAL11 protein, an auxiliary transcription activator for genes encoding galactose-metabolizing enzymes in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

1988 ◽  
Vol 8 (11) ◽  
pp. 4991-4999 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y Suzuki ◽  
Y Nogi ◽  
A Abe ◽  
T Fukasawa
Keyword(s):  
Saccharomyces Cerevisiae ◽  
Carbon Sources ◽  
Alpha Helix ◽  
Normal Function ◽  
Hybridization Experiment ◽  
Yeast Cells ◽  
Predicted Amino Acid Sequence ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Transcription Activator ◽  
Galactose Utilization

Normal function of the GAL11 gene is required for maximum production of the enzymes encoded by GAL1, GAL7, and GAL10 (collectively termed GAL1,7,10) in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Strains bearing a gal11 mutation synthesize these enzymes at 10 to 30% of the wild-type level in the induced state. In a DNA-RNA hybridization experiment, the gal11 effect was shown to be exerted at the transcription level. Yeast cells bearing the gal11 mutation were shown to grow on glycerol plus lactate more slowly than the wild type. We isolated recombinant plasmids carrying the GAL11 gene by complementation of the gal11 mutation. When the GAL11 locus was disrupted by insertion of the URA3 gene, the resulting yeast cells (gal11::URA3) exhibited phenotypes almost identical to those of the gal11 strains, with respect to both galactose utilization and growth on nonfermentable carbon sources. Deficiency of Gal4, the major transcription activator for GAL1,7,10, was epistatic over the gal11 defect. The Gal11 deficiency lowered the expression of GAL2 but not that of MEL1 or GAL80; expression of these genes is also known to be dependent on GAL4 function. We determined the nucleotide sequence of GAL11, which is predicted to encode a 107-kilodalton protein with stretches of polyglutamine and poly(glutamine-alanine). An alpha-helix-beta-turn-alpha-helix structure was found in a distal part of the predicted amino acid sequence. A possible role of the GAL11 product in the regulation of galactose-inducible genes is discussed.

scholarly journals Shifts from glucose to certain secondary carbon-sources result in activation of the extracytoplasmic function sigma factor σ E in Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium

Microbiology ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 151 (7) ◽  
pp. 2373-2383 ◽  
Author(s):  
William J. Kenyon ◽  
Sheena M. Thomas ◽  
Erin Johnson ◽  
Mark J. Pallen ◽  
Michael P. Spector
Keyword(s):  
Energy Source ◽  
Sigma Factor ◽  
Salmonella Enterica ◽  
Cell Envelope ◽  
Carbon Sources ◽  
Growth Conditions ◽  
Serovar Typhimurium ◽  
Lag Period ◽  
Diauxic Lag ◽  
Sustained Increase

Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium (S. Typhimurium) elicits the starvation-stress response (SSR) due to starvation for an essential nutrient, e.g. a carbon/energy source (C-source). As part of the SSR, the alternative sigma factor σ E is activated and induced. The authors suspect that this activation is, in part, triggered by changes in the S. Typhimurium cell envelope occurring during the adaptation from growth to carbon/energy starvation (C-starvation), and resulting in an increased need for σ E-regulated factors involved in the proper folding and assembly of newly synthesized proteins destined for this extracytoplasmic compartment. This led to the hypothesis that a σ E activation signal might arise during C-source shifts that cause the induction of proteins localized to the extracytoplasmic compartment, i.e. the outer membrane or periplasm, of the cell. To test this hypothesis, cultures were grown in minimal medium containing enough glucose to reach mid-exponential-phase, plus a non-limiting amount of a secondary ‘less-preferred’ but utilizable carbon/energy source. The σ E activity was then monitored using plasmids carrying rpoEP1– and rpoEP2–lacZ transcriptional fusions, which exhibit σ E-independent and -dependent lacZ expression, respectively. The secondary C-sources maltose, succinate and citrate, which have extracytoplasmic components involved in their utilization (e.g. LamB), resulted in a discernible diauxic lag period and a sustained increase in σ E activity. Growth transition from glucose to other utilizable phosphotransferase (PTS) and non-PTS C-sources, such as trehalose, mannose, mannitol, fructose, glycerol, d-galactose or l-arabinose, did not cause a discernible diauxic lag period or a sustained increase in σ E activity. Interestingly, a shift from glucose to melibiose, which does not use an extracytoplasmic-localized protein for uptake, did cause an observable diauxic lag period but did not result in a sustained increase in σ E activity. In addition, overexpression of LamB from an arabinose-inducible promoter leads to a significant increase in σ E activity in the absence of a glucose to maltose shift or C-starvation. Furthermore, a ΔlamB : : Ω-Kmr mutant, lacking the LamB maltoporin, exhibited an approximately twofold reduction in the sustained σ E activity observed during a glucose to maltose shift, again supporting the hypothesis. Interestingly, the LamB protein lacks the typical Y-X-F terminal tripeptide of the OmpC-like peptides that activate DegS protease activity leading to σ E activation. It does, however, possess a terminal pentapeptide (Q-M-E-I-W-W) that may function as a ligand for a putative class II PDZ-binding site. The authors therefore propose that the σ E regulon of S. Typhimurium not only is induced in response to deleterious environmental conditions, but also plays a role in the adaptation of cells to new growth conditions that necessitate changes in the extracytoplasmic compartment of the cell, which may involve alternative signal recognition and activation pathways that are independent of DegS.

scholarly journals Repeated horizontal gene transfer of GALactose metabolism genes violates Dollo’s law of irreversible loss

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Max A. B. Haase ◽  
Jacek Kominek ◽  
Dana A. Opulente ◽  
Xing-Xing Shen ◽  
Abigail L. LaBella ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gene Transfer ◽  
Horizontal Gene Transfer ◽  
Complex Traits ◽  
Galactose Metabolism ◽  
History Of ◽  
Dollo’S Law ◽  
Ancestral States ◽  
Phylogenomic Analyses ◽  
Galactose Utilization ◽  
Utilization Pathway

AbstractDollo’s law posits that evolutionary losses are irreversible, thereby narrowing the potential paths of evolutionary change. While phenotypic reversals to ancestral states have been observed, little is known about their underlying genetic causes. The genomes of budding yeasts have been shaped by extensive reductive evolution, such as reduced genome sizes and the losses of metabolic capabilities. However, the extent and mechanisms of trait reacquisition after gene loss in yeasts have not been thoroughly studied. Here, through phylogenomic analyses, we reconstructed the evolutionary history of the yeast galactose utilization pathway and observed widespread and repeated losses of the ability to utilize galactose, which occurred concurrently with the losses of GALactose (GAL) utilization genes. Unexpectedly, we detected three galactose-utilizing lineages that were deeply embedded within clades that underwent ancient losses of galactose utilization. We show that at least two, and possibly three, lineages reacquired the GAL pathway via yeast-to-yeast horizontal gene transfer. Our results show how trait reacquisition can occur tens of millions of years after an initial loss via horizontal gene transfer from distant relatives. These findings demonstrate that the losses of complex traits and even whole pathways are not always evolutionary dead-ends, highlighting how reversals to ancestral states can occur.

scholarly journals High-throughput transcriptome sequencing and comparative analysis of Escherichia coli and Schizosaccharomyces pombe in respiratory and fermentative growth

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. e0248513
Author(s):  
Joivier Vichi ◽  
Emmanuel Salazar ◽  
Verónica Jiménez Jacinto ◽  
Leticia Olvera Rodriguez ◽  
Ricardo Grande ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Escherichia Coli ◽  
Membrane Proteins ◽  
Schizosaccharomyces Pombe ◽  
Aerobic Glycolysis ◽  
Carbon Sources ◽  
Differentially Expressed ◽  
Growth Media ◽  
Galactose Metabolism ◽  
Regulatory Processes ◽  
Fermentative Growth

In spite of increased complexity in eukaryotes compared to prokaryotes, several basic metabolic and regulatory processes are conserved. Here we explored analogies in the eubacteria Escherichia coli and the unicellular fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe transcriptomes under two carbon sources: 2% glucose; or a mix of 2% glycerol and 0.2% sodium acetate using the same growth media and growth phase. Overall, twelve RNA-seq libraries were constructed. A total of 593 and 860 genes were detected as differentially expressed for E. coli and S. pombe, respectively, with a log2 of the Fold Change ≥ 1 and False Discovery Rate ≤ 0.05. In aerobic glycolysis, most of the expressed genes were associated with cell proliferation in both organisms, including amino acid metabolism and glycolysis. In contrast in glycerol/acetate condition, genes related to flagellar assembly and membrane proteins were differentially expressed such as the general transcription factors fliA, flhD, flhC, and flagellum assembly genes were detected in E. coli, whereas in S. pombe genes for hexose transporters, integral membrane proteins, galactose metabolism, and ncRNAs related to cellular stress were overexpressed. In general, our study shows that a conserved "foraging behavior" response is observed in these eukaryotic and eubacterial organisms in gluconeogenic carbon sources.

scholarly journals Polymorphisms in the yeast galactose sensor underlie a natural continuum of nutrient-decision phenotypes

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kayla B. Lee ◽  
Jue Wang ◽  
Julius Palme ◽  
Renan Escalante-Chong ◽  
Bo Hua ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Allelic Variation ◽  
Natural Environments ◽  
Ecological Constraints ◽  
Single Protein ◽  
Natural Isolates ◽  
Gal Genes ◽  
Diauxic Lag ◽  
Different Strains ◽  
Nutrient Changes ◽  
Time Required

AbstractIn nature, microbes often need to “decide” which of several available nutrients to utilize, a choice that depends on a cell’s inherent preference and external nutrient levels. While natural environments can have mixtures of different nutrients, phenotypic variation in microbes’ decisions of which nutrient to utilize is poorly studied. Here, we quantified differences in the concentration of glucose and galactose required to induce galactose-responsive (GAL) genes across 36 wildS. cerevisiaestrains. Using bulk segregant analysis, we found that a locus containing the galactose sensorGAL3was associated with differences in GAL signaling in eight different crosses. Using allele replacements, we confirmed thatGAL3is the major driver of GAL induction variation, and thatGAL3allelic variation alone can explain as much as 90% of the variation in GAL induction in a cross. TheGAL3variants we found modulate the diauxic lag, a selectable trait. These results suggest that ecological constraints on the galactose pathway may have led to variation in a single protein, allowing cells to quantitatively tune their response to nutrient changes in the environment.Author summaryIn nature, microbes often need to decide which of many potential nutrients to consume. This decision making process is complex, involving both intracellular constraints and the organism’s perception of the environment. To begin to mimic the complexity of natural environments, we grew cells in mixtures of two sugars, glucose and galactose. We find that in mixed environments, the sugar concentration at which cells decides to induce galactose-utilizing (GAL) genes is highly variable in natural isolates of yeast. By analyzing crosses of phenotypically different strains, we identified a locus containing the galactose sensor, a gene that in theory could allow cells to tune their perception of the environment. We confirmed that the galactose sensor can explain upwards of 90% of the variation in the decision to induce GAL genes. Finally, we show that the variation in the galactose sensor can modulate the time required for cells to switch from utilizing glucose to galactose. Our results suggest that signaling pathways can be highly variable across strains and thereby might allow for rapid adaption in fluctuating environments.

scholarly journals Computational study on ratio-sensing in yeast galactose utilization pathway

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiayin Hong ◽  
Bo Hua ◽  
Michael Springer ◽  
Chao Tang
Keyword(s):  
Transcription Factors ◽  
Carbon Source ◽  
Metabolic Network ◽  
Concentration Ratio ◽  
Carbon Sources ◽  
Regulatory Sequences ◽  
Signal Integration ◽  
External Concentration ◽  
Galactose Utilization ◽  
External Nutrient

AbstractMetabolic networks undergo gene expression regulation in response to external nutrient signals. In microbes, the synthesis of enzymes that are used to transport and catabolize less preferred carbon sources is repressed in the presence of a preferred carbon source. For most microbes, glucose is a preferred carbon source, and it has long been believed that as long as glucose is present in the environment, the expression of genes related to the metabolism of alternative carbon sources is shut down, due to catabolite repression. However, recent studies have shown that the induction of the galactose (GAL) metabolic network does not solely depend on the exhaustion of glucose. Instead, the GAL genes respond to the external concentration ratio of galactose to glucose, a phenomenon of unknown mechanism that we termed ratio-sensing. Using mathematical modeling, we found that ratio-sensing is a general phenomenon that can arise from competition between two carbon sources for shared transporters, between transcription factors for binding to communal regulatory sequences of the target genes, or a combination of the aforementioned two levels of competition. We analyzed how the parameters describing the competitive interaction influenced ratio-sensing behaviors in each scenario and found that the concatenation of both layers of signal integration can expand the dynamical range of ratio-sensing. Finally, we investigated the influence of circuit topology on ratio-sensing and found that incorporating negative auto-regulation and/or coherent feedforward loop motifs to the basic signal integration unit can tune the sensitivity of the response to the external nutrient signals. Our study not only deepened our understanding of how ratio-sensing is achieved in yeast GAL metabolic regulation, but also elucidated design principles for ratio-sensing signal processing that can be used in other biological settings, such as being introduced into circuit designs for synthetic biology applications.Author summaryMicrobes make sophisticated choices about the uptake and metabolism of nutrients depending on the variety of nutrient choices available to them in their environment. In the well-studied yeast galactose utilization network, a recent study has shown that galactose metabolic genes respond to the external concentration ratio of galactose to glucose. Using computational models, we showed that this type of phenomenon could arise from a competition between galactose and glucose for transporters, a competition between transcription factors for promoters, or a combination of these two mechanisms. We further revealed the controlling parameters that determined the system sensitivity towards competing input signals and that determined the concentration ratio required to induce the metabolic network in each scenario. Combining competition inhibition at both the transporter level and the transcriptional level can enlarge the ratio-sensing regime, resulting a robust signal integration module. We suspect that modules of this kind may be common in many areas of biology.

GAL11 protein, an auxiliary transcription activator for genes encoding galactose-metabolizing enzymes in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

1988 ◽  
Vol 8 (11) ◽  
pp. 4991-4999
Author(s):  
Y Suzuki ◽  
Y Nogi ◽  
A Abe ◽  
T Fukasawa
Keyword(s):  
Saccharomyces Cerevisiae ◽  
Carbon Sources ◽  
Alpha Helix ◽  
Normal Function ◽  
Hybridization Experiment ◽  
Yeast Cells ◽  
Predicted Amino Acid Sequence ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Transcription Activator ◽  
Galactose Utilization

Normal function of the GAL11 gene is required for maximum production of the enzymes encoded by GAL1, GAL7, and GAL10 (collectively termed GAL1,7,10) in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Strains bearing a gal11 mutation synthesize these enzymes at 10 to 30% of the wild-type level in the induced state. In a DNA-RNA hybridization experiment, the gal11 effect was shown to be exerted at the transcription level. Yeast cells bearing the gal11 mutation were shown to grow on glycerol plus lactate more slowly than the wild type. We isolated recombinant plasmids carrying the GAL11 gene by complementation of the gal11 mutation. When the GAL11 locus was disrupted by insertion of the URA3 gene, the resulting yeast cells (gal11::URA3) exhibited phenotypes almost identical to those of the gal11 strains, with respect to both galactose utilization and growth on nonfermentable carbon sources. Deficiency of Gal4, the major transcription activator for GAL1,7,10, was epistatic over the gal11 defect. The Gal11 deficiency lowered the expression of GAL2 but not that of MEL1 or GAL80; expression of these genes is also known to be dependent on GAL4 function. We determined the nucleotide sequence of GAL11, which is predicted to encode a 107-kilodalton protein with stretches of polyglutamine and poly(glutamine-alanine). An alpha-helix-beta-turn-alpha-helix structure was found in a distal part of the predicted amino acid sequence. A possible role of the GAL11 product in the regulation of galactose-inducible genes is discussed.

scholarly journals Role for Phosphoglucomutase in Vibrio fischeri-Euprymna scolopes Symbiosis

2002 ◽  
Vol 184 (18) ◽  
pp. 5121-5129 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cindy R. DeLoney ◽  
Therese M. Bartley ◽  
Karen L. Visick
Keyword(s):  
Vibrio Fischeri ◽  
Euprymna Scolopes ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Galactose Metabolism ◽  
High Sequence Identity ◽  
E Coli ◽  
New Gene ◽  
Increased Sensitivity ◽  
Colonization Ability ◽  
Galactose Utilization

ABSTRACT Vibrio fischeri, a luminescent marine bacterium, specifically colonizes the light organ of its symbiotic partner, the Hawaiian squid Euprymna scolopes. In a screen for V. fischeri colonization mutants, we identified a strain that exhibited on average a 10-fold decrease in colonization levels relative to that achieved by wild-type V. fischeri. Further characterization revealed that this defect did not result from reduced luminescence or motility, two processes required for normal colonization. We determined that the transposon in this mutant disrupted a gene with high sequence identity to the pgm (phosphoglucomutase) gene of Escherichia coli, which encodes an enzyme that functions in both galactose metabolism and the synthesis of UDP-glucose. The V. fischeri mutant grew poorly with galactose as a sole carbon source and was defective for phosphoglucomutase activity, suggesting functional identity between E. coli Pgm and the product of the V. fischeri gene, which was therefore designated pgm. In addition, lipopolysaccharide profiles of the mutant were distinct from that of the parent strain and the mutant exhibited increased sensitivity to various cationic agents and detergents. Chromosomal complementation with the wild-type pgm allele restored the colonization ability to the mutant and also complemented the other noted defects. Unlike the pgm mutant, a galactose-utilization mutant (galK) of V. fischeri colonized juvenile squid to wild-type levels, indicating that the symbiotic defect of the pgm mutant is not due to an inability to catabolize galactose. Thus, pgm represents a new gene required for promoting colonization of E. scolopes by V. fischeri.

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