Ultrasensitive regulation of anapleurosis via allosteric activation of PEP carboxylase

Anapleurosis is the filling of the TCA cycle with four-carbon units. The common substrate for both anapleurosis and glucose phosphorylation in bacteria is the terminal glycolytic metabolite, phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP). Here we show that E. coli quickly and almost completely turns off PEP consumption upon glucose removal. The resulting build-up of PEP is used to quickly import glucose if it becomes re-available. The switch-like termination of anapleurosis results from depletion of fructose-1,6-bisphosphate (FBP), an ultrasensitive allosteric activator of PEP carboxylase. E. coli expressing an FBP-insensitive point mutant of PEP carboxylase grow normally on steady glucose. However, they fail to build-up PEP upon glucose removal, grow poorly on oscillating glucose, and suffer from futile cycling at the PEP node on gluconeogenic substrates. Thus, bacterial central carbon metabolism is intrinsically programmed with ultrasensitive allosteric regulation to enable rapid adaptation to changing environmental conditions.