Transport and metabolism of vitamin B6 in Salmonella typhimurium LT2

Salmonella typhimurium LT2 concentrates radioactivity intracellularly from [3H]pyridoxal or [3H]pyridoxine up to 25 times the external concentration. After 1 min of uptake intracellular radioactivity is found as phosphorylated vitamin B6. The process is sensitive to temperature and is maximally active at pH 8.1, but under the conditions tested it is insensitive to monovalent cations or metabolic inhibitors, and does not require an exogenous energy source. The Km values for uptake of pyridoxine and pyridoxal are 2.0 x 10(-7) M and 1.2 x 10(-7) M, respectively; [3H]pyridoxamine is not transported. Evidence is presented for an uptake mechanism involving facilitated diffusion followed by trapping by pyridoxal kinase. S. typhimurium also appears to lack a periplasmic binding protein for vitamin B6.