Growth of E. coli JM109 (pST1WT) with succinate as carbon source and different amides as nitrogen sources. The growth experiments were performed in 100-ml Erlenmeyer flasks with baffles in a medium which contained in 25 ml of Na phosphate or K phosphate buffer (50 mM, pH 7.4), succinate (25 mM), proline (0.5 mM), thiamine (1 μM), ampicillin (100 μg/ml), and acetamide (•), hexaneamide (○), isovalerianamide (▾), pivalamide (▿), or mandeloamide (▪) (5 mM each) or no additional nitrogen source (□). The flasks were inoculated with 100 μl of a preculture grown in the same growth medium with succinate and hexanamide. The bacterial cultures were grown at 37°C and growth monitored photometrically at 546 nm.