Efficiency of thymidine incorporation in Escherichia coli B-r as a function of growth rate

Short-term labeling with radioactive thymidine led to inaccurate estimates of deoxyribonucleic acid synthesis at some growth rates in steady-state cultures of Escherichia coli B/r. Estimates were corrected in chemostat cultures by adding adenosine, a known inhibitor of thymidine phosphorylase.