Glycerol and ethylene glycol: members of a new class of repellents of Escherichia coli chemotaxis

By using the chemical-in-plug method, we found that glycerol and ethylene glycol caused negative chemotaxis in wild-type cells of Escherichia coli; the threshold concentration was about 10(-3) M for both chemicals. As with other known repellents, the addition of glycerol or ethylene glycol induced a brief tumble response in wild-type cells but not in generally nonchemotactic mutants. Experiments with mutants defective in various methyl-accepting chemotaxis proteins (MCPs) revealed that the presence of any one of three kinds of MCPs (MCP I, MCP II, or MCP III) was necessary to give a tumble response to these repellents. Consistently, it was found that the methylation-demethylation system of MCPs was involved in the adaptation of the cells to these repellents. The effect of glycerol or ethylene glycol was not enhanced by lowering the pH of the medium, and glycerol did not alter the membrane potential of the cells. All of these results suggest that glycerol and ethylene glycol are members of a new class of repellents which produce a tumble response in the cells by perturbing the MCPs in the membrane.

[1]  J. Adler,et al.  Protein methylation in behavioural control mechanisms and in signal transduction , 1979, Nature.

[2]  J. Adler,et al.  Sensory transduction in Escherichia coli: two complementary pathways of information processing that involve methylated proteins. , 1977, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[3]  G. L. Hazelbauer,et al.  Parallel pathways for transduction of chemotactic signals in Escherichia coli , 1980, Nature.

[4]  G L Hazelbauer,et al.  Chemotaxis Toward Sugars in Escherichia coli , 1973, Journal of bacteriology.

[5]  M. Simon,et al.  Flagellar rotation and the mechanism of bacterial motility , 1974, Nature.

[6]  J. Shioi,et al.  Characterization of the Bacillus subtilis motile system driven by an artificially created proton motive force , 1979, Journal of bacteriology.

[7]  D. Koshland,et al.  Tandem duplication and multiple functions of a receptor gene in bacterial chemotaxis. , 1982, The Journal of biological chemistry.

[8]  J. S. Parkinson,et al.  Complementation analysis and deletion mapping of Escherichia coli mutants defective in chemotaxis , 1978, Journal of bacteriology.

[9]  J. Adler,et al.  Negative Chemotaxis in Escherichia coli , 1974, Journal of bacteriology.

[10]  J. Adler,et al.  Change in intracellular pH of Escherichia coli mediates the chemotactic response to certain attractants and repellents , 1981, Journal of bacteriology.

[11]  R. Macnab,et al.  The steady-state counterclockwise/clockwise ratio of bacterial flagellar motors is regulated by protonmotive force. , 1980, Journal of molecular biology.

[12]  J. Adler.  Chemotaxis in bacteria. , 1976, Journal of supramolecular structure.

[13]  M. Simon,et al.  Sensory transducers of E. coli are encoded by homologous genes , 1981, Cell.

[14]  J. Adler,et al.  Identification of a methyl-accepting chemotaxis protein for the ribose and galactose chemoreceptors of Escherichia coli. , 1979, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[15]  D. Koshland,et al.  Receptor structure in the bacterial sensing system. , 1980, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[16]  J. Adler,et al.  Failure of sensory adaptation in bacterial mutants that are defective in a protein methylation reaction , 1978, Cell.

[17]  G. Richarme.  Interaction of the maltose-binding protein with membrane vesicles of Escherichia coli , 1982, Journal of bacteriology.

[18]  J. S. Parkinson,et al.  Sensory adaptation mutants of E. coli , 1978, Cell.

[19]  J. Adler,et al.  Genetic and biochemical properties of Escherichia coli mutants with defects in serine chemotaxis , 1980, Journal of bacteriology.

[20]  O. Koiwai,et al.  Studies on bacterial chemotaxis. IV. Interaction of maltose receptor with a membrane-bound chemosensing component. , 1979, Journal of biochemistry.

[21]  J. Adler,et al.  Change in direction of flagellar rotation is the basis of the chemotactic response in Escherichia coli , 1974, Nature.

[22]  R M Macnab,et al.  Normal-to-curly flagellar transitions and their role in bacterial tumbling. Stabilization of an alternative quaternary structure by mechanical force. , 1977, Journal of molecular biology.

[23]  M. Sherman,et al.  Sensing of the proton motive force in Escherichia coli chemotaxis , 1981 .

[24]  R. Macnab,et al.  Cytoplasmic pH mediates pH taxis and weak-acid repellent taxis of bacteria , 1981, Journal of bacteriology.

[25]  Y Imae,et al.  Quantitative measurements of proton motive force and motility in Bacillus subtilis , 1980, Journal of bacteriology.

[26]  N. Hirota,et al.  Use of lipophilic cation-permeable mutants for measurement of transmembrane electrical potential in metabolizing cells of Escherichia coli , 1981, Journal of bacteriology.