Inhibition of growth of Escherichia coli and of homoserine O-transsuccinylase  by alpha-methylmethionine.
The methionine analogue, alpha-methylmethionine, inhibits bacterial growth, but its action is overcome by methionine, homocysteine, and cystathionine. The effect of the analogue on growth is attributed to its ability to mimic methionine as a feed-back inhibitor of the first enzyme specific to methionine biosynthesis. This conclusion is based on the findings that (i) alpha-methylmethionine inhibits excretion of O-succinylhomoserine, the product of the first enzyme, by a methionine auxotroph unable to convert succinylhomoserine to cystahionine, and that (ii) the enzyme homoserine O-transsuccinylase is inhibited by alpha-methylmethionine in extracts of Escherichia coli. alpha-Methylmethionine also inhibits methionyl-ribonucleic acid synthetase in extracts, but this inhibition probably does not affect growth.
D000596:Amino Acids / Q000378:metabolism; D004794:Enzyme Repression; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D006710:Homocysteine / Q000378:metabolism; D008715:Methionine / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000494:pharmacology; D012694:Serine / Q000378:metabolism; D014166:Transferases / Q000378:metabolism; D014316:Tritium
D000596:Amino Acids; D006710:Homocysteine; D014316:Tritium; D012694:Serine; D008715:Methionine; D014166:Transferases