Teichoic acids termination

Fig. 8.—Formation of an O-Glycoaylglycerol Phosphate from the P-Terminal End of a Teichoic Acid.

Potentiometric titration of the teichoic acid from strain 8191 reveals the presence of a terminal phosphomonoester group, and indicates a chain length of 20-22 residues. This phosphomonoester residue is resistant to the action of phosphomonoesterase, presumably because of the neighboring, bulky, sugar substituents. 

All of the ribitol teichoic acids so far examined are composed of chains of ribitol residues joined through phosphodiester groups at C-l and C-5. Each chain is terminated by a phosphomonoester residue, and the ribitol residues bear glycosyl and D-alanine ester substituents. Detailed structures have been proposed for the polymers from Bacillus aubtilis and Lactobacillus arabinosus, and from two strains of Staphylococcus aureus. The structure of the teichoic acid from Bacillus subtilis was the first to be established in detail the other polymers differ mainly in the nature of the glycosyl substituents. 

Ester links between threonine and the terminal carboxyl of a peptide chain forming a lactone have been found in actinomycin (Bullock and Johnson, 1957), while Dekker et al. (1949) have found an imide link in the form of a pyrrolidonyl ring involving the N-terminal glutamic acid residue in a peptide isolated from algae. In teichoic acids (polymers present in... 

The cell walls of Streptococcus pneumoniae contain a teichoic acid (C polysaccharide) composed of 2-acetamido-2-deoxy-D-galactose, 2-acetamido-4-amino-2,4,6-trideoxy-D-hexose, ribitol phosphate, choline phosphate, and D-glucose. From the results of periodate oxidation and methylation analysis, together with an examination of the n.m.r. spectra, the structure (1) has been proposed. It is speculated that the C-3 hydroxy-group of the chain terminal diaminotrideoxy-D-hexose unit is glycosylated with isomaltose. 

Chain Initiation and Termination in Teichoic Acid Synthesis... 

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