Fig. 3

Transcriptomic analysis of the strain with the deletion of GRF genes. a Venn diagram showing significantly up-regulated genes in strains Δcre-1, Δgrf-1, Δgrf-2, and Δgrf-3, compared to the WT strain when growth on glucose for 24 h. b KEGG analysis of the genes with up-regulated expression levels in strains Δcre-1, Δgrf-1, Δgrf-2, and Δgrf-3. c Cell dry weight of strains WT, OE_fbp, OE_pck, ΔlaeA, and ΔlaeAΔpck after 24 h of the cultivation on glucose. d Construction of LaeA mutants. e Cell dry weight when M. thermophila strains grown on 2% glucose for 36 h. f Growth properties of M. thermophila strains WT, ΔlaeA::LaeAM1, ΔlaeA::LaeAM2, and ΔlaeA::LaeAM3 on agar plates for 5 d with glucose, or sucrose as carbon sources. Detailed data for a, and b are presented in Additional file 1: Tables S7, S8. ** represents p value < 0.01; *** depicts p value < 0.001