TABLE 1.

Production of methyl mercaptan from l-methionine by P. gingivalis, F. nucleatum, A. actinomycetemcomitans, and E. coli

Strain	Production of methyl mercaptan (nmol/liter)a
P. gingivalis
W83	79.44  ± 10.87
W50	66.77  ± 7.78
F. nucleatum ATCC 10953	54.31  ± 4.00
A. actinomycetemcomitans Y4	NDb
E. coli DH5α	ND

^aThe production of methyl mercaptan by each strain was estimated as described in the text. The values are expressed as the means ± standard deviations of triplicate assays. 

^bND, not detected.