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Evidence for the Transport of Maltose by the Sucrose Permease, CscB, of Escherichia coli

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Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the sugar recognition and transport properties of the sucrose permease (CscB), a secondary active transporter from Escherichia coli. We tested the hypothesis that maltose transport is conferred by the wild-type CscB transporter. Cells of E. coli HS4006 harboring pSP72/cscB were red on maltose MacConkey agar indicator plates. We were able to measure “downhill” maltose transport and establish definitive kinetic behavior for maltose entry in such cells. Maltose was an effective competitor of sucrose transport in cells with CscB, suggesting that the respective maltose and sucrose binding sites and translocation pathways through the CscB channel overlap. Accumulation (“uphill” transport) of maltose by cells with CscB was profound, demonstrating active transport of maltose by CscB. Sequencing of cscB encoded on plasmid pSP72/cscB used in cells for transport studies indicate an unaltered primary CscB structure, ruling out the possibility that mutation conferred maltose transport by CscB. We conclude that maltose is a bona fide substrate for the sucrose permease of E. coli. Thus, future studies of sugar binding, transport, and permease structure should consider maltose, as well as sucrose.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Dr. Howard A. Shuman of Columbia University for E. coli strains HS4006 and HS2053 and Dr. Ron H. Kaback (UCLA) for plasmids pSP72/cscB and pJBL137. We are indebted to Dr. Jeffrey K. Griffith (University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM), Dr. Thomas H. Wilson (Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA), and Dr. Tomofusa Tsuchiya (Okayama University, Okayama, Japan) for helpful comments. This work was made possible by NIH Grants 1 R15 GM070562-01 and P20 RR016480, the latter of which is from the NM-INBRE program of the National Center for Research Resources, as well as an Internal Research Grant awarded by Eastern New Mexico University.

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  1. Department of Biology, Eastern New Mexico University, Roosevelt Hall, Room 101, Station 33, Portales, 88130, NM, USA

    Yang Peng, Sanath Kumar, Ricardo L. Hernandez, Suzanna E. Jones, Kathleen M. Cadle, Kenneth P. Smith & Manuel F. Varela

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  1. Yang Peng
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  2. Sanath Kumar
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  3. Ricardo L. Hernandez
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Correspondence to Manuel F. Varela.

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Yang Peng and Sanath Kumar contributed equally to this paper.

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Peng, Y., Kumar, S., Hernandez, R.L. et al. Evidence for the Transport of Maltose by the Sucrose Permease, CscB, of Escherichia coli . J Membrane Biol 228, 79–88 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00232-009-9161-9

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