Glutamine-synthesizing System of Staphylococcus aureus ; Its Inhibition by Crystal Violet and Methionine-sulphoxide

Abstract

IN the course of studies on the assimilation of glutamic acid by Gram-positive cocci, it has been shown that dyes of the triphenylmethane series inhibit some phase of glutamate metabolism within the cells¹. Other studies of the action of glutamate anti-metabolites have shown that methionine-sulphoxide competitively antagonizes glutamic acid in the nutrition of L. arabinosus ; since it has no inhibitory action in the presence of glutamine, it has been suggested that methionine-sulphoxide inhibits the synthesis of glutamine from glutamic acid². Elliott has dascribed the preparation of an enzyme system from sheep brain which catalyses the formation of glutamine from glutamic acid in the presence of adenosinetriphosphate. A survey of the occurrence of this enzyme in bacteria has now been undertaken.