A Bacillus subtilis 168 mutant with increased xylose uptake can utilize xylose as sole carbon source

Abstract Bacillus subtilis 168 is unable to effectively utilize xylose as sole carbon source. We demonstrate here that this strain cannot actively transport xylose into the cell. After leaving B. subtilis 168 for a few days on minimal plates with xylose as sole carbon source large colonies arise with a frequency of 1 × 10⁻⁶/cell. These mutants grow well on xylose and efficiently take up that sugar. This new property is not inducible by xylose, indicating that the mutation is neither in the xyl nor in the xyn operon.