Modified peptidoglycan precursors produced by glycopeptide-resistant enterococci

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Cytoplasmic precursors of the peptidoglycan biosynthetic pathway were purified from vancomycin-treated, glycopeptide-sensitive and -resistant strains of Enterococcus faecium. Resistance was due to production of a modified precursor, UDP-MurNAc-l-Ala-d-Glu-l-Lys-d-Ala-d-lactate, where lactate was identified on the basis of mass of the precursor and on its ability to act as a substrate for d-lactate dehydrogenase after release from the precursor. The presence of the d-lactate residue instead of d-alanine in the terminal position would hinder formation of a vancomycin-precursor complex, without preventing incorporation of the precursor into mature peptidoglycan.

This publication has 0 references indexed in Scilit: