Biosynthesis of poly(galactosylglycerol phosphate) in Bacillus coagulans

Open Access
Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
The pathway for the de novo synthesis of a teichoic acid, poly(galactosylglycerol phosphate), in Bacillus coagulans AHU 1366 was studied by means of characterization and stepwise conversion of lipid‐linked intermediates. Incubation of membranes with UDP‐N‐acetylglucosamine and UDP‐glucose yielded a disaccharidelinked polyprenylpyrophosphate, whose sugar moiety was characterized as glucosyl(β1→4)N‐acetylglucosamine (Glc‐GlcNAc). By incubation with membranes and CDP‐glycerol, Glc‐GlcNAc‐PP‐prenol was converted to a series of glycolipids characterized as (Gro‐P)1–6‐Glc‐GlcNAc‐PP‐prenol (Gro = glycerol). Glc‐[14C]GlcNAc‐PP‐prenol was converted to polymer by incubation with membranes, CDP‐glycerol and UDP‐galactose. Smith degradation of the polymer gave two radioactive fragments corresponding to (Gro‐P)3‐Glc‐GlcNAc and (Gro‐P)4‐Glc‐GlcNAc. These results, together with data on gel chromatography of radioactive polymer synthesized from UDP‐[3H]galactose, CDP‐glycerol and Glc‐[14C]GlcNAc‐PP‐prenol, led to the conclusion that in this strain poly(galactosylglycerol phosphate) is probably synthesized through the following pathway: GlcNAc‐PP‐prenol → Glc‐GlcNAc‐PP‐prenol → (Gro P)3–4‐Glc‐GlcNAc‐PP‐prenol → (Gro‐P‐Gal)n‐(Gro‐P)3–4‐Glc‐GlcNAc‐PP‐prenol → (Gro‐P‐Gal)n‐(Gro‐P) 3–4‐Glc‐GlcNAc‐P‐peptidoglycan complex.

This publication has 21 references indexed in Scilit: