Transcriptional analysis of genes associated with glycolysis in Streptomyces coelicolor M145.

We previously reported the mRNA levels of genes involved in the tricarboxylic acid cycle and the phosphoenolpyruvate-pyruvate-oxaloacetate node. Owing to the importance of the glycolytic pathway, massive mRNA sequencing of Streptomyces coelicolor grown in minimal medium with glucose as the sole carbon source was performed. The results revealed a large discrepancy between the mRNA levels of all the genes analysed; sco1947, encoding glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase, had the highest relative levels with respect to those of the hrdB gene, with a decreasing trend over time in most cases. On the other hand, the genes encoding glucose kinase had the lowest expression levels. The existence of gene multiplicity in Streptomyces is well known, and S. coelicolor is no exception. Two, three, and even four paralogous genes were detected for some of the activities in this pathway, and not all of them were expressed under the growth conditions used. The results obtained showed the large differences in gene expression and in the activity of the enzymes involved in the glycolytic pathway, which may allow the design of strategies aimed at a better carbon flow in this microorganism.