Regulatory mechanisms in the biosynthesis of isoleucine and valine I. Genetic derepression of enzyme formation

Abstract

A total of 60 mutants of Escherichia coli K-12 resistant to 10⁻²M valine were isolated from the valine-sensitive F' strain AB1206. Conjugation experiments showed that in five of these mutants the valine-resistance locus is closely linked to the structural genes governing isoleucine-valine biosynthesis. In these five valine-resistant mutants, three enzymes of the isoleucine-valine pathway were found to be coordinately derepressed: L-threonine deaminase, dihydroxy acid dehydrase, and transaminase B. Two other enzymes of this pathway, the condensing enzyme and the reductoisomerase, were unaffected. The mutation from valine-sensitivity to valine-resistance appears to have altered an operator locus, because the derepressed state is dominant over the repressed state in diploids heterozygous for the valine-resistance locus. The valine-resistant mutants excrete isoleucine into the medium. The significance of these findings with respect to the valine-sensitivity of E. coli K-12 and the regulation of the biosynthesis of isoleucine and valine by this organism are discussed.