Glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase is required for sucrose and trehalose to be efficient osmoprotectants in Sinorhizobium meliloti.

Inactivation of the zwf gene in Sinorhizobium meliloti induces an osmosensitive phenotype and the loss of osmoprotection by trehalose and sucrose, but not by ectoine and glycine betaine. This phenotype is not linked to a defect in the biosynthesis of endogenous solutes. zwf expression is induced by high osmolarity, sucrose and trehalose, but is repressed by betaine. A zwf mutant is more sensitive than its parental strain to superoxide ions, suggesting that glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase involvement in the osmotic response most likely results from the production of reactive oxygen species during osmotic stress.