Enzyme IIGlc contributes to trehalose metabolism in Bacillus subtilis

The tre operon of Bacillus subtilis is regulated at the transcriptional level by the Tre repressor (TreR) and by carbon catabolite repression. The molecular inducer of TreR is trehalose-6-phosphate, which is generated by transport of trehalose across the membrane by a specific Enzyme IITre (TreP) and simultaneous phosphorylation. It has been shown that TreP lacks the Enzyme IIA domain which is necessary for the phosphoryl transfer from phosphoenolpyruvate via Enzyme I and HPr. In this study, evidence is presented supporting the hypothesis of the involvement of the A domain from Enzyme IIGlc on trehalose utilization and its potential role in the regulation of the transcription of the tre operon.