Dear all,
I wondered which amino-sugars can be digested by E. coli.
Sure, Glucosamine can be metabolized by these bugs. But which other amino-derivatized carbohydrates can they devour?
What about 1-Amino-1-deoxy-monosaccharides or 3-amino-3-deoxy-monosaccharides, for example? Is there literature on this?
Best,
Peter
In general, if the aminosugar is a natural product, some steps (reactions) in its biosynthesis and biodegradation can be identical, and each catalyzed either by one enzyme in both directions or by different enzymes with complementary activities. If such enzymes (those necessary to convert the aminosugar into a common metabolite of any of the E. coli's sugar catabolic pathways) are produced by E. coli, it could, at least in principle, utilize the aminosugar as the carbon and energy source.
add a minimum concentration of the test amino sugar in the minimal medium and try to check bacterial growth. the organism will start utilizing the compound as carbon/nitrogen and energy source.
I could deduce this, but I was hoping to skip this if anyone could supply hands-on experience :)
Most of the work on this kind of stuff was done 40 or more years ago, so, unfortunately, most of the people who know about it have probably retired.
I'd search PubMed and/or Google Scholar with ("E. coli" and "[sugar name]"). A copy of The Genetic Map of Escherichia coli may help as well, as the metabolic activities of the various gene products are listed, albeit briefly.
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