Selective fermentation of xylose by a mutant of Tetragenococcus halophila defective in phosphoenolpyruvate:mannose phosphotransferase, phosphofructokinase, and glucokinase

Tetragenococcus halophila is a Gram-positive halophilic lactic acid bacterium used for soy sauce fermentation. We isolated a mutant, T. halophila 3E4, triply defective in phosphoenolpyruvate:mannose phosphotransferase, phosphofructokinase, and glucokinase. 3E4 selectively metabolized pentoses such as xylose and arabinose in the presence of hexoses such as glucose and galactose. We present here an example of the metabolic engineering of catabolite control.