Inhibition of Escherichia coli B by homoarginine.

Homoarginine inhibits the growth of Escherichia coli B, but not of E. coli K-12. These two strains also differ in regard to repressibility of the arginine-forming enzymes. In K-12, arginine acts as a repressor whereas in B it does not. The latter difference is determined by different alleles of a regulator gene, arg R. In K-12 x B crosses, it was shown that the genetic determinant for homoarginine sensitivity is closely linked to or identical with arg R. Homoarginine-resistant mutants of B were isolated. The biochemical mechanism of homoarginine inhibition is not known. However, whether or not a strain is sensitive to homoarginine seems to depend on the intracellular level of arginine. In B this level is relatively low and inflexible as a result of the action of a repressor whose formation is determined by the B-specific allele of arg R.