Proton movements coupled to lactate and alanine transport in Escherichia coli: isolation of mutants with altered stoichiometry in alanine transport.

The addition of lactate to lightly buffered suspensions of resting cells of Escherichia coli caused an increase in the pH of the extracellular phase as lactate and protons entered the cell together. From the magnitude of the pH change and the non-electrogenic character of lactate uptake, we concluded that the stoichiometry of the process was 1 proton/lactate anion. The addition of alanine caused a slow increase in pH, also apparently due to the transport of the amino acid by a symport mechanism with 1 proton/alanine stoichiometry. When cells were grown in the chemostat with alanine as sole carbon source and as limiting nutrient, this stoichiometry was found to alter to 2 protons/alanine, and then to 4 protons/alanine. These increases stoichiometries were due to the selection of mutants. The consequences of these changes on the potential uptake capacity of the cells are discussed.