To determine to what extent the biosynthesis of cysteine in Escherichia coli resembles that in Salmonella typhimurium, the following experiments were performed. (1) Mutants of E. coli K 12 deficient in the biosynthesis of cysteine were isolated. (2) These mutants were classified by nutritional and biochemical criteria; some mutants lacked a single enzyme of sulphate reduction, other mutants appeared to lack two or more enzymes. (3) The genetic map predicted from the biochemical data alone is shown to be incorrect, and an alternative map, consistent with the genetic data, is proposed for the cys mutants of E. coli.
