Isolation and Properties of Mutant Strains of Escherichia coli Defective in Succinate Transport System

To investigate the stereo-specificity and the genetic control of a succinate transport system, mutants of Escherichia coli defective in the transport of succinate were isolated. The mutants showed no detectable growth on fumarate and malate, as well as on succinate. All of the revertant strains from one of the transport defective mutants, T5, could grow either on succinate, fumarate or malate. The T5 cells accumulated only a trace amount of ¹⁴C-succinate or ¹⁴C-fumarate. These results indicated that at least succinate, fumarate, and malate were transported by the system involving the same component. From the competition experiments, it was suggested that oxalacetate was also transported by the same system. A partial participation of this system for the transport of aspartate was suggested.