Structure of the Peptidoglycan of Bacterial Spores: Occurrence of the Lactam of Muramic Acid
Year: 1969
Type: article
Abstract: Six major oligosaccharides were released from the peptidoglycan of spores of Bacillus subtilis by lysozyme treatment. They were isolated and characterized as a disaccharide, tetrasaccharide, and hexasaccharide composed of equal amounts of muramic acid and glucosamine and containing two, three, and four acetyl groups, respectively. Three of the compounds were substituted by a single L-alanine residue, and the other three by a single tetrapeptide substituent on the acetylmuramic acid residue at the reducing end of each compound. The other muramic acid residue in the tetrasaccharides (and two of the three in the hexasaccharides) were shown to be present as muramic lactams, a sugar not previously found in nature and, hence, a unique spore constituent. Other features of the structure of spore peptidoglycan are discussed.
Authors: A. D. Warth, J. L. Strominger
Institution: Harvard University
Language: English
Subfield: Genetics
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2061817676