Aminoacyl tRNA synthetases of bacteria are known as potential targets for new anti-microbial agents. To isolate new inhibitors of bacterial methionyl-tRNA synthetases from natural sources, a new target-oriented screening system using whole cells which are over-expressing a target enzyme was developed. Approximately 8,000 culture broths of microorganisms from soils were tested by this screening system. Among them, ten culture broths was found to contain inhibitory activity against methionyl -tRNA synthetases of Escherichia coli. For the validation of the screening system, this new method was compared with in vitro enzymatic method. Seven out of 10 culture broths showed inhibitory activity against methionyl-tRNA synthetases of E. coli. This result showed that the new screening system was comparable to the enzyme assay. Thus we believe that our screening system as a new method can be applied for the screening of new antibiotics inhibiting bacterial methionyl-tRNA synthetases from natural products.