While it is still possible that there are unknown PTS IIA domains that have not been characterized, we conclude that the majority of these 15 carbohydrates are imported by PTS transporters. Table 1 Carbohydrate utilization profiles of

various lactobacilli Carbohydrate L. gasseri ATCC 33323 a L. gasseri ATCC 33323 EI::MJM75 L. gasseri ADH L. gasseri ATCC 19992 D-galactose + – + + D-glucose + + + + D-fructose + – + + D-mannose + – + + N-acetylglucosamine + – + + Amygdalin + – - – Arbutin + – - – Esculin ferric citrate + – + + Salicin + – - – D-cellobiose + – + + D-maltose + + + + D-lactose (bovine origin) GSK690693 + – + + D-saccharose (sucrose) + – + + D-trehalose + – + + Amidon (starch) + – + – Gentiobiose + – + + D-tagatose + – + + The carbohydrate utilization profiles of L. gasseri ATCC 33323, L. gasseri ATCC 33323 EI::MJM75, L. gasseri ADH and L. gasseri ATCC 19992 were determined using API 50 CH assays after 48 hours incubation. The PF-6463922 clinical trial ability or inability to utilize carbohydrates is represented by “”+”" or “”-”", respectively. The superscript indicates the following: a — there were no differences among the carbohydrate utilization

profiles of L. gasseri ATCC 33323 PTS 15::MJM99, L. gasseri ATCC 33323 PTS 20::MJM100, L. gasseri ATCC 33323 PTS 21::MJM101 and L. gasseri ATCC 33323. PTS GS-9973 transporters with specificities for many of these carbohydrates (arbutin, amygdalin, salicin, gentiobiose and tagatose) have not been identified amongst lactobacilli. For several of the other carbohydrates, very few PTS transporters have been identified amongst lactobacilli. For example, PTS transporters for D-galactose and

D-lactose have only been identified in L. casei [22, 23], whereas many other lactobacilli utilize permeases [24, 20]. Carbohydrates that can be utilized by both L. gasseri ATCC 33323 and L. gasseri ATCC 33323 EI (D-glucose Nintedanib (BIBF 1120) and D-maltose) can be transported into the cell by non-PTS mechanism(s). The L. gasseri genome encodes two putative permeases with a predicted specificity for glucose [3]. A putative sugar ABC transporter has also been predicted for maltose [3]. The importance of PTS transporters in L. gasseri ATCC 33323 was revealed based on the carbohydrate utilization profiles of the wild type and EI knockout strains. PTS Transporters in Lactobacilli Bioinformatic analysis was used to characterize the PTS transporters of the sequenced lactobacilli genomes. In total, eleven different species were analyzed, including Lactobacillus acidophilus NCFM, L. brevis ATCC 367, L. casei ATCC 334, L. delbrueckii ssp. bulgaricus ATCC 11842, L. delbrueckii ssp. bulgaricus ATCC BAA-365, L. gasseri ATCC 33323, L. johnsonii NCC 533, L. plantarum WCFS1, L. reuteri F275, L. sakei ssp. sakei 23 K and L. salivarius ssp. salivarius UCC118. A complete PTS transporter was defined as having the IIA, IIB and IIC components present in the enzyme II of the PTS.