Thialysine utilization by E. coli and its effects on cell growth.

Thialysine can be utilized for growth by a wild type K12 strain of E. coli. It is incorporated into proteins in substitution and in competition with lysine; up to 17% of protein lysine can be substituted by thialysine. Nevertheless the presence of thialysine in the culture medium gives rise to an inhibition of cell growth rate. This effect has been correlated to the inhibition of protein synthesis rate by thialysine and to the extent of protein lysine substitution by the analog. On the other hand this substitution does not affect cell viability.