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. 1972 Jan;69(1):233–237. doi: 10.1073/pnas.69.1.233

Teichoic Acid Hydrolase Activity in Soil Bacteria

Edmund M Wise Jr 1, Rhona S Glickman 1, Ellen Teimer 1
PMCID: PMC427582  PMID: 4333041

Abstract

Bacterial phosphodiesterases have been found that are capable of cleaving the backbone of teichoic acid. Such enzymes have not been reported previously. An aerobic, gram-negative, rod-shaped bacterium producing this activity was detected and isolated by autoradiography of soil suspensions growing on minimal medium containing 32P-labeled Bacillus subtilis ATCC 6051 cell walls as the sole phosphorus source. Broken-cell preparations are capable of depolymerizing teichoic acids in media of low ionic strength at near-neutral pH values. An active teichoicase is also present in B. subtilis, ATCC 6051 (the Marburg strain), especially in sporulating cultures.

Keywords: Bacillus subtilis, sporulation, phosphodiesterase, polyamines, concanavalin A

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Selected References

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