Effect of guanosine 5'-diphosphate 3'-diphosphate and related nucleoside polyphosphates on induction of tryptophanase and beta-galactosidase in permeabilized cells of Escherichia coli.

Exogenous addition of guanosine and adenosine 5'-(mono, di and tri) phosphate 3'-diphosphates (pppGpp, ppGpp, pGpp, pppApp, ppApp and pApp) stimulated the synthesis of tryptophanase and beta-galactosidase in permeabilized cells of Escherichia coli. From the results obtained with ppGpp and pppApp, this effect appeared to be at a transcriptional level and depended greatly on the growth condition; the largest effect was observed in cells under shiftdown or grown on poor enrgy source. ppGpp and pppApp, unlike cyclic AMP, did not act to overcome the inhibition of enzyme induction by glucose, but in combination with cyclic AMP caused a synergistic stimulation effect. In the shiftdown cells, ppGpp and pppApp gave 30% or more stimulation effect on tryptophanase induction while cyclic AMP did not stimulate induction. There was therefore a pronounced difference between cyclic AMP and ppGpp or pppApp in stimulatory function.