The tryptophanase-indole reaction

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
For the production of the tryptophanase system by cultures of E. coli, the presence of tryptophan in a medium is essential. The enzyme system does not exist as such in cells which have been grown in glucose bouillon agar or glucose tryptic digest agar, but such cells, when freed from glucose by washing, re-develop the enzyme system when left in contact with tryptophan. Cells grown in complex amino-acid media plus glucose and tryptophan produce some indole if phenyl-alanine and tyrosine are absent from such media. There is evidence of a stoichiometric relationship between the amt. of tyrosine (?phenylalanine) which inhibits indole production and the tryptophan in media containing an increasing amt. of tryptophan. This action is restricted in its effect to the growing cell. Phenylalanine and tyrosine alone or with glucose do not affect the tryptophanase activity of washed cells.

This publication has 2 references indexed in Scilit: