Enterobacteria like Escherichia coli use glucose as the preferred carbon source. The uptake depends on the phosphotransferase (PTS) system, which is required for translocation of the carbohydrate across the inner membrane concomitant with its phosphorylation. However, glucose may also be oxidised in the periplasm to gluconolactone by the glucose dehydrogenase Gcd (Van Schie et al., 1985). In addition, the periplasmic soluble aldose sugar dehydrogenase Asd (YliI), which has a very broad substrate specificity, may contribute to glucose oxidation, leading to formation of gluconate (Southall et al., 2006). Gluconate may then be transported into the cell by one of the four sugar acid transporters GntU, GntT, GntP, or IdnT (=GntW) (Peekhaus et al., 1997) for further catabolism.