Physiological adaptation of Corynebacterium glutamicum to benzoate as alternative carbon source – a membrane proteome‐centric view

The ability of microorganisms to assimilate aromatic substances as alternative carbon sources is the basis of biodegradation of natural as well as industrial aromatic compounds. In this study, Corynebacterium glutamicum was grown on benzoate as sole carbon and energy source. To extend the scarce knowledge about physiological adaptation processes occurring in this cell compartment, the membrane proteome was investigated under quantitative and qualitative aspects by applying shotgun proteomics to reach a comprehensive survey. Membrane proteins were relatively quantified using an internal standard metabolically labeled with ¹⁵N. Altogether, 40 proteins were found to change their abundance during growth on benzoate in comparison to glucose. A global adaptation was observed in the membrane of benzoate‐grown cells, characterized by increased abundance of proteins of the respiratory chain, by a starvation response, and by changes in sulfur metabolism involving the regulator McbR. Additional to the relative quantification, stable isotope‐labeled synthetic peptides were used for the absolute quantification of the two benzoate transporters of C. glutamicum, BenK and BenE. It was found that both transporters were expressed during growth on benzoate, suggesting that both contribute substantially to benzoate uptake.