DL-S-TRIFLUOROMETHYLHOMOCYSTEINE, A NOVEL INHIBITOR OF MICROBIAL GROWTH

Abstract

DL-S-Trifluoromethylhomocysteine was tested for its effect on the growth of a wide variety of microorganisms. The compound, trifluoromethylhomocysteine, markedly inhibited growth of Mycobacterium smegmatis, Mycobacterium phlei, Candida lipolytica, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Geotrichum candidum, and to a lesser extent, Candida albicans and Escherichia coli. In M. smegmatis, glutamine, methionine, norleucine, norvaline, and certain natural products reversed this antagonism. Utilization of DL-methionine by Leuconostoc mesenteroides, a culture which requires preformed methionine, was not inhibited by trifluoromethylhomocysteine. The compound was also inactive as a replacement for methionine in growth of L. mesenteroides.