Increased glucose utilization and cell growth of Corynebacterium glutamicum by modifying the glucose-specific phosphotransferase system (PTSGlc) genes

The phosphoenolpyruvate:glucose phosphotransferase system (PTSGlc) is the major pathway of glucose uptake in Corynebacterium glutamicum. This study investigated glucose consumption rate, cell growth, and metabolite changes resulting from modification of PTSGlc. The classical l-lysine producer C. glutamicum XQ-8 exhibited low glucose consumption, cell growth, and l-lysine production rates, whereas these parameters were significantly increased during cultivating on glucose plus maltose, through inactivation of SugR, or by overexpression of PTSGlc genes. XQ-8sugR::cat/pDXW-8-ptsI exhibited the highest increase in glucose consumption, growth rate, and l-lysine production, followed by XQ-8sugR::cat/pDXW-8-ptsG. However, overexpression of ptsH had little effect on the above-mentioned factors. Although co-overexpression of ptsGHI led to the highest glucose consumption, growth rate, and final l-lysine production; the l-lysine production rate was lower than that of XQ-8sugR::cat/pDXW-8-ptsIH. In fed-batch fermentation, XQ-8sugR::cat/pDXW-8-ptsIH had a higher growth rate of 0.54 h-1 to a dry cell mass of 66 g·L-1 after 16 h, and had a higher l-lysine production rate of 159.2 g·L-1 after 36 h. These results indicate that modification of the sugar transport systems improves amino acid production, especially for mutants obtained by repeated physical and (or) chemical mutagenesis. However, modification of these systems needs to be performed on a case-by-case basis.