Flexible nitrogen utilisation by the metabolic generalist pathogen <i>Mycobacterium tuberculosis</i>.

ABSTRACT: Bacterial metabolism is fundamental to survival and pathogenesis. We explore how Mycobacterium tuberculosis utilises amino acids as nitrogen sources, using a combination of bacterial physiology and stable isotope tracing coupled to mass spectrometry metabolomics methods. Our results define core properties of the nitrogen metabolic network from M. tuberculosis, such as: (i) the lack of homeostatic control of certain amino acid pool sizes; (ii) similar rates of utilisation of different amino acids as sole nitrogen sources; (iii) improved nitrogen utilisation from amino acids compared to ammonium; and (iv) co-metabolism of nitrogen sources. Finally, we discover that alanine dehydrogenase is involved in ammonium assimilation in M. tuberculosis, in addition to its essential

SUBMITTER: Agapova A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6361586 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature