Poly(glucosyl-N-acetylgalactosamine 1-phosphate), a wall teichoic acid of Bacillus subtilis 168: its biosynthetic pathway and mode of attachment to peptidoglycan

The ggaAB operon of Bacillus subtilis 168 encodes enzymes responsible for the synthesis of poly(glucosyl N-acetylgalactosamine 1-phosphate) [poly(GlcGalNAc 1-P)], a wall teichoic acid (WTA). Analysis of the nucleotide sequence revealed that both GgaA and GgaB contained the motif characteristic of sugar transferases, while GgaB was most likely to be bifunctional, being endowed with an additional motif present in glucosyl/glycerophosphate transferases. Transcription of the operon was thermosensitive, and took place from an unusually distant sigma(A)-controlled promoter. The incorporation of the poly(GlcGalNAc 1-P) precursors by various mutants deficient in the synthesis of poly(glycerol phosphate), which is the most abundant WTA of strain 168, revealed that both WTAs were most likely to be attached to peptidoglycan (PG) through the same linkage unit (LU). The incorporation of poly(GlcGalNAc 1-P) precursors by protoplasts confirmed the existence of this LU, and provided further evidence that incorporation takes place at the outer surface of the protoplast membrane. The data presented here strengthen the view that biosynthesis of the LU, and the hooking of the LU-endowed polymer to PG, offer distinct widespread targets for antibiotics specific to Gram-positive bacteria.