STREPTOCOCCUS-MUTANS SEROTYPE-C TAGATOSE 6-PHOSPHATE PATHWAY GENE-CLUSTER

DNA cloned into Escherichia coli K-12 from a serotype c strain of Streptococcus mutans encodes three enzyme activities for galactose utilization via the tagatose 6-phosphate pathway: galactose 6-phosphate isomerase, tagatose 6-phosphate kinase, and tagatose-1,6-bisphosphate aldolase. The genes coding for the tagatose 6-phosphate pathway were located on a 3.28-kb HindIII DNA fragment. Analysis of the tagatose proteins expressed by recombinant plasmids in minicells was used to determine the sizes of the various gene products. Mutagenesis of these plasmids with transposon Tn5 was used to determine the order of the tagatose genes. Tagatose 6-phosphate isomerase appears to be composed of 14- and 19-kDa subunits. The sizes of the kinase and aldolase were found to be 34 and 36 kDa, respectively. These values correspond to those reported previously for the tagatose pathway enzymes in Staphylococcus aureus and Lactococcus lactis.