Abstract
Dimethyl phthalate (DMP) is one of the most widely used plasticizers, and it is easily released into the environment, posing a threat to microbes. In this study, the impact of DMP on the uptake and metabolism of sugars in E. coli K-12 was assessed using proteomics, computational simulation analysis, transcriptome analysis, and sugar utilization experiments. DMP contamination inhibited the growth of E. coli K-12 and downregulated the expression of proteins in ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters and the phosphotransferase (PTS) system of E. coli K-12, which are primarily involved in the transmembrane transport of sugars. DMP formed a stable complex with sugar transporters and changed the rigidity and stability of the proteins. Furthermore, DMP treatment decreased the utilization of L-arabinose, glucose, D-xylose, and maltose. Moreover, carbon metabolism and oxidative phosphorylation were also downregulated by DMP. Our study shows that DMP reduces the uptake of sugars and ATP production and subsequently inhibits the growth of E. coli K-12.
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Data availability
The RNA-seq data and analyses discussed in this publication were deposited in the NCBI Sequence Read Archive (SRA) database under accession number SRP155588. The protein data were deposited in iProX (ID: IPX0003436000) and Proteome Xchange (ID: PXD030690).
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Funding
This study was supported by the Natural Science Foundation of China (31670375) and the Strategic Priority Science and Technology Project of Chinese Academy of Sciences (XDA23050102).
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Zhigang Wang and Weihui Xu conceived and designed the experiments; Wen**g Chen and **aosong Zhao performed the experiments and analyzed the data; Yunlong Hu participated in the collection of samples and the planning and coordination of the study. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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Chen, W., Zhao, X., Xu, W. et al. Dimethyl phthalate inhibits the growth of Escherichia coli K-12 by regulating sugar transport and energy metabolism. Environ Sci Pollut Res 30, 13702–13710 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-23083-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-23083-9