• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.16 no.8
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• pp.1174-1179
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• 2006

The wild-type Corynebacterium glutamicum ATIC 13032 and Corynebacterium glutamicum ATTC 13032 lysC S301Y, exhibiting a deregulated aspartokinase, were compared concerning growth, lysine production, and intracellular carbon fluxes. Both strains differ by only one single nucleotide over the whole genome. In comparison to the wild-type, the mutant showed significant production of lysine with a molar yield of 0.087 mol (mol glucose$^{-1}$) whereas the biomass yield was reduced. The deregulation of aspartokinase further led to a global rearrangement of carbon flux throughout the whole central metabolism. This involved an increased flux through the pentose phosphate pathway (PPP) and an increased flux through anaplerosis. Because of this, the mutant revealed an enhanced supply of NADPH and oxaloacetate required for lysine biosynthesis. Additionally, the lumped flux through phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase and malic enzyme, withdrawing oxaloacetate back to the glycolysis and therefore detrimental for lysine production, was increased. The reason for this might be a contribution of malic enzyme to NADPH supply in the mutant in the mutant. The observed complex changes are remarkable, because they are due to the minimum genetic modification possible, the exchange of only one single nucleotide.