Table I Methyltransferase activities in A. halophila and E. halochloris cell extracts The activity on glycine, sarcosine, and dimethylglycine is expressed as micromoles of methyl groups transferred per min. S-Adenosylmethionine was used as the methyl group donor. The cell extracts were prepared as described under "Experimental Procedures" except that A. halophila cells were disrupted in the growth medium (38). Initial reaction rates were measured. The errors were within 15%. Organism Activity units/ml Glycine Sarcosine Dimethylglycine E. halochloris 0.058 0.23 2.6 A. halophila 0.023 0.34 0.93