Alternative strategies of 2-deoxyglucose resistance and low affinity glucose transport in the ruminal bacteria, Streptococcus bovis and Selenomonas ruminantium.

Streptococcus bovis and Selenomonas ruminantium grew in the presence of the glucose analog, 2-deoxyglucose (2-DG), but the cells no longer had high affinity glucose transport. In S. bovis, 2-DG resistance was correlated with a decrease in phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP)-dependent glucose phosphotransferase (PTS) activity. The 2-DG-selected S. bovis cells relied solely upon a low affinity, facilitated diffusion mechanism of glucose transport and a 2-DG-resistant glucokinase (ATP-dependent). The glucokinase activity of S. ruminantium was competitively inhibited by 2-DG, and the 2-DG selected cells continued to use PEP-dependent PTS as a mechanism of glucose transport. In this latter case, the 2-DG selected cells switched from a mannosephosphotransferase (enzyme II) that phosphorylated glucose, mannose, and 2-DG, but not alpha-methylglucose to a glucosephosphotransferase (enzyme II) that phosphorylated glucose and alpha-methylglucoside but not 2-DG or mannose. The glucosephosphotransferase (enzyme II) had a very low affinity for glucose and the transport kinetics were similar to the facilitated diffusion system of S. bovis.