Methionine limitation in Escherichia coli K-12 by growth on the sulfoxides of D-methionine.

The synthesis and resolution of the diastereoisomers of d-methionine sulfoxide in high yield is described. Growth of two methionine auxotrophs (strains HfrC and AB1932) on the d-methionine sulfoxides is slower than on l-methionine, and the resultant cells are markedly derepressed for three enzymes of the methionine regulon (cystathionine synthetase, cystathionase, and S-adenosyl-l-methionine synthetase). Strain HfrC grows more rapidly on the sulfoxides and shows less derepression than strain AB1932. Although growth on d-methionine-d-sulfoxide is much slower than on d-methionine-l-sulfoxide (two- to threefold increase in division times), cells grown on d-methionine-l-sulfoxide generally have higher enzyme activities. The sulfoxides of d-methionine appear to provide a useful supplement to obtain methionine-limited growth in Escherichia coli.