Membrane lipoteichoic acid of Streptococcus pyogenes and its stabilized L-form and the effect of two antibiotics upon its cellular content

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Abstract
Membrane lipoteichoic acid continues to be synthesized by an osmotically fragile, stabilized L-form of S. pyogenes. Chromatographic and electrophoretic comparisons indicate that the lipid component of lipoteichoic acid in this L-form and its parental streptococcus is glycerophosyphoryldiglucosyl diglyceride and not phosphatidylkojibiosyl diglyceride. Based upon dry weight determinations, the yield of lipoteichoic acid from the L-form is 0.19%, as compared with 0.97% from the streptococcus. When grown with bacitracin, the L-form contains the same amount of teichoic acid as when grown without this antibiotic, but its lipoteichoic acid content is reduced by 85%. The L-form grown with novobiocin for 10 h contains only 17% of the teichoic acid found in control cells.