Teichuronic acid: a mucopolysaccharide present in wall preparations from vegetative cells of Bacillus subtilis

Abstract

Yoshida et al. 1957) showed that preparations of cell-wall material made from BacilluB 8ubtilis are likely to be more complicated than those from some other Gram-positive organisms such as Micrococcus ly8odeikticu8, Staphylococcus aureus or BacilluB megateriurn. Preparations from these last-named organisms revealed, after acid hydrolysis, the presence of only three or four amino acids as major components together with two amino sugars and in some instances one or two hexoses (Salton, 1953; Cummins & Harris, 1956; Salton & Milhaud, 1959). In some strains of the two coccal species up to 80-90 % of the wall is made from four amino acids * On leave from the State Institute of Hygiene, Warsaw.

Intracellular location of the autolytic N-acetylmuramyl-L-alanine amidase in Bacillus subtilis 168 and in an autolysis-deficient mutant by immunoelectron microscopy

“…The casein hydrolysate medium (16) CHSC was that used previously (24) but supplemented with tryptophan (1 ,ug/ml) for growth of strain 168. Volumes (100 ml) were inoculated with 4 [lI of a spore suspension and incubated overnight at 35°C with aeration.…”

Assay for UDPglucose 6-dehydrogenase in phosphate-starved cells: gene tuaD of Bacillus subtilis 168 encodes the UDPglucose 6-dehydrogenase involved in teichuronic acid synthesis

“…The latter, as well as UDP-N-acetylgalactosamine, are precursors of teichuronic acid of Bacillus licheniformis 94 (Hughes, 1970;Janczura et al, 1961) and Bacillus subtilis W23 (Wright & Heckel, 1975). Ellwood & Tempest (1969) and Kruyssen et al (1980) have incorporated UDPG-DH into the hypothetical metabolic pathway leading to teichuronic acid.…”

Cell-Wall Structure and Biosynthesis

“…Mucopeptides composed of three or four principal amino acids, together with glucosamine and muramic acid, have been identified in all bacterial cell walls. Additional cell-wall components such as the teichoic acids (Armstrong et al 1959) and polysaccharides are less widely distributed and the teichuronic acid polymer has so far only been reported in walls of Bacillus subtiEis (Janczura, Perkins & Rogers, 1961). Of all the four classes of substances isolated from walls, only the chemical structure of the teichoic acid has been fully established by the beautiful work of Baddiley and his colleagues (Armstrong, Baddiley & Buchanan, 1961).…”

“…There is, however, little doubt now that the mucopeptide forms the rigid backbone component composed of covalently bonded amino acids and amino sugars. That the other cell-wall compounds are attached to the mucopeptide by weaker linkages now seems likely from the extractibility of the teichoic acids (Archibald, Armstrong, Baddiley & Hay, 1961) and the teichuronic acid of Bacillus subtilis (Janczura et al 1961) with trichloroacetic acid (TCA) in the cold and the removal of oligosaccharide and polysaccharide residues with both picric acid (Holdsworth, 1952) and formamide (Krause & McCarty, 1961). In all cases the other wall ' polymers ' have been obtained in solution, leaving behind insoluble mucopeptide residues, still possessing the structural rigidity and appearance of the native cell wall as seen in the electron microscope (Archibald, Armstrong, Baddiley & Hay, 1961; Krause & McCarty, 1961).…”