Sugar uptake byMycoplasma mycoides strain PT994 andMycoplasma canis strain 85 B97

Abstract

A pathogenic strain of each ofMycoplasma mycoides subsp.mycoides (Large Colony type) (strain PT994) andMycoplasma canis (strain 85 B97) showed different patterns of sugar uptake when provided with glucose and a disaccharide. Maltose had no effect on the uptake of glucose or of α-methylglucoside byM. mycoides, whereas glucose inhibited the uptake of maltose. Maltose uptake by growing cultures ofM. mycoides recommenced immediately after glucose exhaustion. There was thus an interaction between the two sugars for uptake, with glucose inhibiting the uptake of maltose either by competing for a common transporter or by suppression of a specific maltose-binding system. In contrast, uptake of glucose and sucrose byM. canis showed no interaction, with both sugars being used concurrently, and were thus transported by independent systems. Sugar uptake by both species was inhibited by fluoride, consistent with the operation of glycolysis, and possibly phosphoenolpyruvate-dependent sugar uptake systems.