Inhibition of a thymine-deficient mutant of Escherichia coli by 5-substituted uracils.

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Shapira, Jacob (Consolidated Veterans Administration Hospital, Little Rock, Ark.), Lois Lowden, and Ralph Hale. Inhibition of a thymine-deficient mutant of Escherichia coli by 5-substituted uracils. J. Bacteriol. 83:919-923. 1962.-Small inocula of well-washed cells of a thymine-requiring mutant of Escherichia coli were incubated in a thymine-containing glucose-salts medium with a variety of 5-substituted pyrimidines and pyrimidine ribosides. After a lag phase, the turbidity of the cultures increased appreciably which, in the case of 5-ethyluracil and 5-ethyluridine, was primarily due to an elongation of the cells. 5-Ethyluracil at low thymine concentrations increased the lag phase and decreased the rate and final amount of growth. At high thymine concentrations, it had less effect on the final turbidity of the cultures. The inhibition index for this compound was relatively constant, suggesting competitive inhibition. Several other pyrimidine analogues inhibited growth. The nucleosides of 5-bromouracil and 5-aminouracil were no more effective than the free bases. The ribosides of 5-ethyluracil and 5-butyluracil were appreciably more inhibitory than the free bases and were the most potent compounds tested. It is likely that the inhibition of growth is a reflection of the effect of these compounds on ribonucleic acid synthesis by the cells.