Initiation of spore germination in glycolytic mutants of Bacillus subtilis.

Enzyme activities of glycolysis and glyconeogenesis are present in spores of Bacillus subtilis, the rate-limiting step of glucose (GLC) metabolism being its phosphorylation. GLC allows initiation of germination in the presence of fructose (FRU) and asparagine (ASN), not because it is used via the Embden-Meyerhof path, but because it is oxidized in the nonphosphorylated form via the spore-specific GLC dehydrogenase. Spores of mutants lacking GLC-phosphoenolpyruvate transferase, FRU-6-P-kinase, or phosphoglucoisomerase activity can still be initiated by the above substrate combination. Furthermore, GLC can be replaced by 2-deoxy-GLC, which is also oxidized by GLC-dehydrogenase, but not by alpha- or beta-methylglucoside, which are not substrates of this enzyme. GLC probably acts by reducing nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (or nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate), which is used for some metabolic reaction other than the cytochrome-linked electron transport system, since inhibitors of this system do not inhibit initiation. Spores of a mutant lacking FRU-1-P-kinase activity can no longer be initiated by GLC+FRU+ASN, but they do respond to the combination of GLC+mannose+ASN. Since spores of a FRU-6-P-kinase (or phosphoglucoisomerase) mutant can still respond to either FRU or mannose, FRU-6-P (or some derivative) apparently is needed for initiation (in addition to reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide and an amino donor). Alanine can initiate germination in spores of all of the above mutants, indicating that it can form all required compounds. However, in a mutant lacking P-glycerate kinase activity, alanine initiates only after a long lag and at a slow rate, indicating that some compound in the upper metabolic subdivision is required for initiation, in agreement with the above findings. All initiating agents of B. subtilis probably produce the same required compound(s) by different metabolic routes.