Regulation of carbon metabolism in gram-positive bacteria by protein phosphorylation.

The main function of the bacterial phosphotransferase system is to transport and to phosphorylate mono- and disaccharides as well as sugar alcohols. However, the phosphotransferase system is also involved in regulation of carbon metabolism. In Gram-positive bacteria, it is implicated in carbon catabolite repression and regulation of expression of catabolic genes by controlling either catabolic enzyme activities, transcriptional activators or antiterminators. All these different regulations follow a protein phosphorylation mechanism.