In Escherichia coli, the phosphoenolpyruvate: carbohydrate phosphotransferase system acts like a sensory element which is able to measure the flux through glycolysis. Since the output of the sensor, the phosphorylated form of protein EIIA, is connected to the activity of the global transcription factor Crp, the kinetic and structural properties of the system are important for the understanding of the overall cellular behavior.