The instant disclosure is generally related to novel Bacillus sp. mutants capable of producing increased amounts of industrially relevant proteins of interest. Certain embodiments of the disclosure are related to modified Bacillus sp. cells comprising an introduced polynucleotide encoding a variant GlcT protein. Other embodiments are related to methods and compositions for producing endogenous and/or heterologous proteins of interest in the modified Bacillus sp. (daughter) cells, whereas certain other embodiments are directed to nucleic acid sequences, particularly polynucleotide open reading frame (ORF) sequences, vectors thereof and DNA expression constructs thereof, encoding variant GlcT proteins of the disclosure.