Bacillus subtilis α-Phosphoglucomutase Is Required for Normal Cell Morphology and Biofilm Formation

Mutations designated gtaC and gtaE that affect α-phosphoglucomutase activity required for interconversion of glucose 6-phosphate and α-glucose 1-phosphate were mapped to the Bacillus subtilis pgcA (yhxB) gene. Backcrossing of the two mutations into the 168 reference strain was accompanied by impaired α-phosphoglucomutase activity in the soluble cell extract fraction, altered colony and cell morphology, and resistance to phages 29 and ρ11. Altered cell morphology, reversible by additional magnesium ions, may be correlated with a deficiency in the membrane glycolipid. The deficiency in biofilm formation in gtaC and gtaE mutants may be attributed to an inability to synthesize UDP-glucose, an important intermediate in a number of cell envelope biosynthetic processes.