JBC, Vol. 250, Issue 18, 7324-7331, Sep, 1975
Studies on the mechanism of inhibition of Salmonella typhimurium by 1,2,4-triazole
N. M. Kredich, L. J. Foote and M. D. Hulanicka
The inhibition of Salmonella typhimurium by 1,2,4-triazole appears to be
mediated through an effect on L-cysteine biosynthesis. O-Acetylserine
sulfhydrylase A, the final enzyme in the L-cysteine biosynthetic pathway,
was found to catalyze a reaction (triazolylase) between O-acetyl-L-serine
and 1,2,4-triazole, giving 1,2,4-triazole-1-alanine as a product. In wild
type S. typhimurium grown on 4 mM 1,2,4-triazole, 97% of the total
O-acetyl-L-serine synthesized in vivo is incorporated into
1,2,4-triazole-1-alanine. 1,2,4-triazole also significantly lowers the
levels of several of the enzymes necessary for sulfate reduction. This
effect is presumably due to the ability of the inhibitor to lower
intracellular concentrations of O-acetyl-L-serine, an inducer of these
enzymes. Inhibition of growth is probably caused by L-cysteine starvation,
arising from the decreased availability of the L-cysteine precursors,
sulfide and O-acetyl-L-serine. Two 1,2,4-triazole-resistant strains bearing
mutations in cysK, the structural gene for O-acetylserine sulfhydrylase A,
incorporate only small quantities of O-acetyl-L-serine into
1,2,4-triazole-1-alanine in vivo. In vitro studies, using purified
preparations of O-acetylserine sulfhydrylase A, revealed greater losses of
triazolylase activity than sulfhydrylase activity in the enzymes from both
cysK mutants. Resistance to 1,2,4-triazole apparently can arise from
mutations leading to a preferential loss of triazolylase activity or from
mutations which diminish both activities to the extent that high
concentrations of O-acetyl-L-serine and sulfide accumulate behind the
sulfhydrylase reaction.