D-serine transport system in Escherichia coli K-12.

The d-serine transport system in Escherichia coli K-12 was studied by use of a mutant unable to form d-serine deaminase, yet resistant to d-serine. The mutant is greatly impaired in its ability to accumulate d-serine, d-alanine, and glycine. Transport of l-alanine is partially affected but transport of l-serine is unaffected. The mutant is also resistant to d-cycloserine, indicating that d-serine is transported by the system responsible for uptake of d-cycloserine. The d-serine transport system is not inducible, but appears to be formed constitutively, as are the transport systems of most amino acids. The transport mutation appears to be multistep and maps to the right of malB on the E. coli linkage map.