ABSTRACT
The microbial sulfatases may be grouped according to the three major mechanisms of stimulation of enzyme synthesis, namely induction, derepression, and constitutive production. Through the use of appropriate mutants the discipline of genetics has been used to good advantage to answer questions regarding the physiological nature of the sulfatases. Divalent cations are apparently not required for sulfatase activity. These ions are known to occur in high concentration in the cell wall of Gram-negative bacteria and are believed to anchor the lipopolysaccharide protein complex to other cell-wall components. Generally, inorganic sulfate, cysteine, and various intermediates associated with cysteine biosynthesis are effective repressors. Inorganic sulfate is certainly a key metabolite repressor in the regulation of arylsulfatase. The observation that a variety of seemingly unrelated sulfate esters repressed synthesis of the enzyme in Pseudomonas C12B probably reflects the fact that the compounds in question can be hydrolysed by the bacterium to yield the sulfate anion.
