EFFECT OF ETHIONINE ON THE RIBONUCLEIC ACID, DEOXYRIBONUCLEIC ACID, AND PROTEIN CONTENT OF ESCHERICHIA COLI.

Smith, Robert C. (Auburn University, Auburn, Ala.), and W. D. Salmon. Effect of ethionine on the ribonucleic acid, deoxyribonucleic acid, and protein content of Escherichia coli. J. Bacteriol. 89:687-692. 1965.-The addition of ethionine to cultures of Escherichia coli K-12 W6, a methionine-requiring auxotroph, led to inhibition of the rate of increase in optical density when the ratio of ethionine to methionine was 200:1. When the ratio was 600:1, the increase in optical density became linear. When ethionine was substituted for methionine in the medium, the optical density of the culture increased, and there was a parallel increase in protein content. There was no cell division in these cultures. The rate of synthesis of ribonucleic acid (RNA) in a culture containing ethionine was similar to that of a culture deprived of methionine, but the synthesis of deoxyribonucleic acid in a culture with ethionine was about twice that of a culture deprived of methionine. No detectable radioactivity from ethionine-ethyl-1-C(14) was incorporated into RNA. Ethionine-ethyl-1-C(14) was readily incorporated into the protein fraction.