Skip to main content
PMC home page
Biochemical Journal logoLink to Biochemical Journal
. 1968 Jul;108(3):363–368. doi: 10.1042/bj1080363

Structure of the cell wall of lactobacilli. Role of muramic acid phosphate in Lactobacillus fermenti

K W Knox 1, Klara J Holmwood 1
PMCID: PMC1198820  PMID: 5667252

Abstract

1. The polysaccharide and mucopeptide components of the cell wall of Lactobacillus fermenti, serological group F, were separated by mild conditions of acid hydrolysis; the polysaccharide was composed of glucose and galactose. 2. Soluble cell-wall products were isolated from cell wall lysed by lysozyme and a Streptomyces enzyme preparation. The lysozyme-dissolved fraction contained a greater proportion of mucopeptide. 3. The soluble preparations were heated in dilute acid to hydrolyse the linkage between the polysaccharide and mucopeptide components and then incubated with acid phosphatase. 4. Inorganic phosphate was released from products of Streptomyces enzyme action but not from products of lysozyme action. 5. The phosphate was shown to be present in the mucopeptide as muramic acid phosphate. It is concluded that in the intact wall polysaccharide is joined to muramic acid by a phosphodiester linkage.

Full text

PDF
367

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. ARCHIBALD A. R., ARMSTRONG J. J., BADDILEY J., HAY J. B. Teichoic acids and the structure of bacterial walls. Nature. 1961 Aug 5;191:570–572. doi: 10.1038/191570a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. BRUMFITT W. The mechanism of development of resistance to lysozyme by some gram-positive bacteria and its results. Br J Exp Pathol. 1959 Oct;40:441–451. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. CUMMINS C. S., HARRIS H. The chemical composition of the cell wall in some gram-positive bacteria and its possible value as a taxonomic character. J Gen Microbiol. 1956 Jul;14(3):583–600. doi: 10.1099/00221287-14-3-583. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. DISCHE Z. Qualitative and quantitative colorimetric determination of heptoses. J Biol Chem. 1953 Oct;204(2):983–997. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. GHUYSEN J. M., TIPPER D. J., STROMINGER J. L. STRUCTURE OF THE CELL WALL OF STAPHYLOCOCCUS AUREUS, STRAIN COPENHAGEN. IV. THE TEICHOIC ACID-GLYCOPEPTIDE COMPLEX. Biochemistry. 1965 Mar;4:474–485. doi: 10.1021/bi00879a016. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. HANES C. S., ISHERWOOD F. A. Separation of the phosphoric esters on the filter paper chromatogram. Nature. 1949 Dec 31;164(4183):1107-12, illust. doi: 10.1038/1641107a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Hall E. A., Knox K. W. Properties of the polysaccharide and mucopeptide components of the cell wall of Lactobacillus casei. Biochem J. 1965 Aug;96(2):310–318. doi: 10.1042/bj0960310. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Heymann H., Manniello J. M., Barkulis S. S. Structure of streptococcal cell walls. V. Phosphate esters in the walls of group A Streptococcus pyogenes. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 1967 Feb 21;26(4):486–491. doi: 10.1016/0006-291x(67)90574-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. IKAWA M., SNELL E. E. Cell wall composition of lactic acid bacteria. J Biol Chem. 1960 May;235:1376–1382. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. KNOX K. W., BRANDSEN J. The isolation of components from the cell wall of Lactobacillus casei. Biochem J. 1962 Oct;85:15–23. doi: 10.1042/bj0850015. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. KNOX K. W., HALL E. A. THE ISOLATION OF OLIGOSACCHARIDES FROM THE CELL-WALL POLYSACCHARIDE OF LACTOBACILLUS CASEI, SEROLOGICAL GROUP C. Biochem J. 1965 Mar;94:525–533. doi: 10.1042/bj0940525. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. KNOX K. W. Isolation of group specific products from Lactobacillus casei and L.casei var.rhamnosus. J Gen Microbiol. 1963 Apr;31:59–72. doi: 10.1099/00221287-31-1-59. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. LIU T. Y., GOTSCHLICH E. C. The chemical composition of pneumococcal C-polysaccharide. J Biol Chem. 1963 Jun;238:1928–1934. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Liu T. Y., Gotschlich E. C. Muramic acid phosphate as a component of the mucopeptide of Gram-positive bacteria. J Biol Chem. 1967 Feb 10;242(3):471–476. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Montague M. D., Moulds J. D. The phosphorus content of cell walls of Micrococcus lysodeikticus. Biochim Biophys Acta. 1967 Jul 3;135(3):565–567. doi: 10.1016/0005-2736(67)90047-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Neuberger A., Wilson B. M. Inhibition of lysozyme by N-acyl-D-glucosamine derivatives. Nature. 1967 Jul 29;215(5100):524–525. doi: 10.1038/215524a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Perkins H. R. Inhibition of lysozyme by positively charged groups in the mucopeptide of the bacterial cell wall. Proc R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 1967 Apr 18;167(1009):443–445. doi: 10.1098/rspb.1967.0044. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. ROTH H., SEGAL S., BERTOLI D. THE QUANTITATIVE DETERMINATION OF GALACTOSE--AN ENZYMIC METHOD USING GALACTOSE OXIDASE, WITH APPLICATIONS TO BLOOD AND OTHER BIOLOGICAL FLUIDS. Anal Biochem. 1965 Jan;10:32–52. doi: 10.1016/0003-2697(65)90238-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. SHARPE M. E. A serological classification of lactobacilli. J Gen Microbiol. 1955 Feb;12(1):107–122. doi: 10.1099/00221287-12-1-107. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. SHARPE M. E., DAVISON A. L., BADDILEY J. TEICHOIC ACIDS AND GROUP ANTIGENS IN LACTOBACILLI. J Gen Microbiol. 1964 Feb;34:333–340. doi: 10.1099/00221287-34-2-333. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. SHARPE M. E., WHEATER D. M. Lactobacillus helveticus. J Gen Microbiol. 1957 Jun;16(3):676–679. doi: 10.1099/00221287-16-3-676. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. STROMINGER J. L., GHUYSEN J. M. ON THE LINKAGE BETWEEN TEICHOIC ACID AND THE GLYCOPEPTIDE IN THE CELL WALL OF STAPHYLOCOCCUS AUREUS. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 1963 Aug 14;12:418–424. doi: 10.1016/0006-291x(63)90117-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Sharon N. The chemical structure of lysozyme substrates and their cleavage by the enzyme. Proc R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 1967 Apr 18;167(1009):402–415. doi: 10.1098/rspb.1967.0037. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. Work E. Factors affecting the susceptibility of bacterial cell walls to the action of lysozyme. Proc R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 1967 Apr 18;167(1009):446–447. doi: 10.1098/rspb.1967.0045. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Biochemical Journal are provided here courtesy of The Biochemical Society

RESOURCES