Regulation of serine transhydroxymethylase activity in Salmonella typhimurium

The regulation of serine transhydroxymethylase (EC 2.1.2.1.; l-serine:tetrahydrofolic-5,10-hydroxymethyltransferase) has been investigated in Salmonella typhimurium LT2. Our results indicate that limitation of a methionine auxotroph for methionine does not cause derepression of this enzyme as reported for Escherichia coli. However, a sixfold decrease in specific activity was observed when S. typhimurium cells were grown in glucose minimal medium supplemented with serine, glycine, methionine, adenine, guanine, and thymine. None of these compounds added to the growth medium individually produced more than a 42% reduction of wild-type enzyme activity. This enhanced repression by the combination of compounds suggests a form of cumulative repression of this enzyme. Growth of serine and thymine auxotrophs, with the respective requirement of each limiting, did not result in increased enzyme activity. However, growth of a purine auxotroph with a limiting amount of either guanine or inosine resulted in a five- to sevenfold increase in enzyme activity. A second condition causing significant derepression (fourfold increase) above the levels observed with cells grown in minimal medium was the addition of 0.5 mug of trimethoprim per ml, an inhibitor of the dihydrofolate reductase activity. (A partial report on this work was presented at 1974 meeting of the American Society for Microbiology.)