Corynebacterium glutamicum AJ1511 and Escherichia coli BW25113 strains were compared in terms of resistance to sarcosine (N-methylglycine). The E. coli strain was more sensitive to sarcosine than C. glutamicum especially when grown in minimal medium. Growth inhibition of the BW25113 strain in minimal M9 medium containing 0.5 M sarcosine was overcome by the addition of glycine. Inactivation of the glycine cleavage (GCV) system (∆gcvP) as well as the removal of its activator (∆gcvA) in BW25113 cells increased the threshold for sarcosine inhibition up to 0.75 M. Activation of the promoter of the E. coli gcvTHP operon by 0.1–0.4 M sarcosine added to M9 medium was demonstrated in vivo using dasherGFP as the reporter. Sensitivity to sarcosine on minimal glucose medium is suggested to be a character of gram-negative bacteria with GcvA/GcvR regulation of the GCV system.

No abstract

No abstract