Organization of Polymers in the Cell Walls of some Bacilli

THE word “organization” in the title of this communication is used advisedly. There is growing evidence 1–4 that the polysaccharides and teichoic acids that can be extracted from the walls of Gram-positive bacteria by reagents such as acids and formamide were originally covalently bonded to the muco...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nature (London) 1968-08, Vol.219 (5154), p.642-644
Main Authors: HUGHES, R. C, PAVLIK, J. G, ROGERS, H. J, TANNER, P. J
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Alanine - analysis
Bacillus - cytology
Bacillus subtilis - cytology
Cell Wall - analysis
Cellulose
Chromatography, Ion Exchange
Glucuronates - analysis
Glutamates - analysis
Hexosamines - analysis
Humanities and Social Sciences
letter
multidisciplinary
Muramidase
Pentosephosphates - analysis
Peptides - analysis
Pimelic Acids - analysis
Polysaccharides, Bacterial - analysis
Science
Science (multidisciplinary)
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Summary:THE word “organization” in the title of this communication is used advisedly. There is growing evidence 1–4 that the polysaccharides and teichoic acids that can be extracted from the walls of Gram-positive bacteria by reagents such as acids and formamide were originally covalently bonded to the mucopeptide framework, the extraction procedures having hydrolysed such bonds. Evidence has increased about the fine structure of mucopeptides and about the wide variety of other polymers found in bacterial walls 5 . The current concept is that all mucopeptides consist of polysaccharide backbones made of N -acetylglucosamine and N -acetylmuramic acid linked together by β-(l→4)-glycosidic bonds 6,7 .
ISSN:0028-0836
1476-4687
DOI:10.1038/219642a0