Abstract: A method of selectively inhibiting pyruvic acid decomposition activity in microorganism cells containing tryptophanase or a treated product thereof, which comprises heat-treating said cells or the treated product thereof in the presence of an ammonium ion.

Abstract: A method for producing L-threonine, which comprises subjecting at least L- or DL-aspartic acid or a salt thereof to enzymatic reaction according to the reaction system not accompanied with growth of microorganism cells in an aqueous solution in the presence of a microorganism and collecting L-threonine formed, wherein the microorganism is a biotin-requiring microorganism for the growth belonging to coryneform bacterium; a plasmid comprising a DNA fragment containing at least a gene encoding biosynthesis of threonine which can be expressed within a biotin-requiring microorganism cell for the growth belonging to coryneform bacterium and a DNA fragment containing a gene encoding autonomous replication within coryneform bacterium cell; and a biotin-requiring microorganism for the growth belonging to coryneform bacterium which has been transformed with the plasmid described above, both of which are employed in the present method.

Abstract: A method of culturing an amino acid racemaseproducing microorganism of the genus Pseudomonas, which comprising culturing said microorganism in a culture medium containing at least one compound selected from the group consisting of glycerol, ethanol, tartaric acid, fumaric acid and succinic acid as a carbon source, and recovering microorganism cells containing the amino acid racemase in an increased amount.