DL-Lanthionine is used primarily in biochemical research as a precursor or analog in the study of sulfur-containing amino acids and their metabolic pathways. It serves as a tool compound for investigating enzyme mechanisms, particularly those involving cysteine metabolism and sulfur transfer reactions. Due to its structural similarity to natural amino acids, it can act as an inhibitor or substrate mimic in enzymatic assays. It is also employed in the synthesis of peptides and modified proteins to probe structure-function relationships. Additionally, DL-Lanthionine finds use in studies related to antibiotic biosynthesis, as lanthionine derivatives are structural components of certain lantibiotics.