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. 1996 Jan;178(2):441–446. doi: 10.1128/jb.178.2.441-446.1996

Cell wall sorting of lipoproteins in Staphylococcus aureus.

W W Navarre 1, S Daefler 1, O Schneewind 1
PMCID: PMC177676  PMID: 8550464

Abstract

Many surface proteins are thought to be anchored to the cell wall of gram-positive organisms via their C termini, while the N-terminal domains of these molecules are displayed on the bacterial surface. Cell wall anchoring of surface proteins in Staphylococcus aureus requires both an N-terminal leader peptide and a C-terminal cell wall sorting signal. By fusing the cell wall sorting of protein A to the C terminus of staphylococcal beta-lactamase, we demonstrate here that lipoproteins can also be anchored to the cell wall of S. aureus. The topology of cell wall-anchored beta-lactamase is reminiscent of that described for Braun's murein lipoprotein in that the N terminus of the polypeptide chain is membrane anchored whereas the C-terminal end is tethered to the bacterial cell wall.

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Selected References

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