Uptake of Glycerol-2-Phosphate via the ugp-Encoded Transporter in Escherichia coli K-12

During phenotypic characterization of various Escherichia coli mutants, we observed that Delta phoA strains are capable of using glycerol-2-phosphate (G2P) as a sole source of phosphorus. Mutations in the ugpBAECQ operon eliminated this phenotype, suggesting that G2P is a previously unrecognized substrate for the binding protein-dependent Ugp transporter.