The phosphoenolpyruvate-dependent sugar phosphotransferase system (sugar PTS), a major carbohydrate active transport system, catalyzes the phosphorylation of incoming sugar substrates concomitantly with their translocation across the cell membrane. This system is involved in maltose transport. MalX can also recognize and transport glucose even though this sugar may not represent the natural substrate of the system. D-maltose(out) + N(pros)-phospho-L-histidyl-[protein] = alpha-maltose 6'-phosphate(in) + L-histidyl-[protein] By maltose. Repressed by MalI. The EIIC domain type-1 forms the PTS system translocation channel and contains the specific substrate-binding site. The PTS EIIB type-1 domain is phosphorylated by phospho-EIIA on a cysteinyl residue. Then, it transfers the phosphoryl group to the sugar substrate concomitantly with the sugar uptake processed by the PTS EIIC type-1 domain.