Effects of phosphonic acid analogues of glycerol-3-phosphate on the growth of Escherichia coli.

The four-carbon phosphonate, 3,4-dihydroxybutyl-1-phosphonate, is similar to glycerol-3-phosphate in its ability to inhibit cell growth of Escherichia coli strain 8 cultured in low-phosphate synthetic medium supplemented with either succinate or casein hydrolysate as the sole carbon source. The three-carbon phosphonate, 2,3-dihydroxypropyl-1-phosphonate, does not appear to exhibit a similar effect. The inhibition caused by the four-carbon phosphonate differs from that caused by glycerol-3-phosphate in at least three ways. (i) Its inhibitory effect is not offset by the presence of glucose in the culture medium. (ii) It is capable of exerting its inhibitory effect on cells containing an active aerobic glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase. (iii) Its inhibitory effect is maintained in synthetic medium containing high concentrations of inorganic phosphate. The four-carbon phosphonate appears to be bacteriostatic and inhibits the uptake of labeled glycerol-3-phosphate by E. coli strain 8.