[Regulatory mutants for the synthesis of a 2d purine nucleoside phosphorylase in Escherichia coli K-12. I. Synthesis inducers and the substrate specificity of purine nucleoside phosphorylase in pndR mutants].

Restoration of the ability to catabolise the purine nucleosides in phenotypic revertants of Escherichia coli K-12 mutants defective in deoD encoded purine nucleoside phosphorylase (PNPase 1) is the result of regulatory pndR mutations for synthesis of a second purine nucleoside phosphorylase (PNPase 2). In pndR+ strains synthesis of PNPase 2 is induced by xanthosine; in pndR mutants catabolising all purine nucleosides synthesis of this enzyme is constitutive; in other pndR mutants only catabolising some of purine nucleosides, this catabolisible nucleosides, namely, deoxyinosine, deoxyadenosine as well as, in some cases, inosine and adenosine, act as inducers of PNPase 2 synthesis. In some pndR mutants with inducible PNPase 2, xanthosine is a stronger inducer, in others it is weaker, in comparison with pndR+ strains. In bacterial cells PNPase 2 catalyses the phosphorolytic cleavage of adenosine, inosine, deoxyinosine, guanosine, deoxyguanosine and xanthosine, though in crude extracts adenosine and deoxyadenosine phosphorylase activities of the enzyme are not expressed.