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Theoretical studies on peptidoglycans. II. Conformations of the disaccharide–peptide subunit and the three‐dimensional structure of peptidoglycan
Author(s) -
Virudachalam R.,
Rao V. S. R.
Publication year - 1979
Publication title -
biopolymers
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.556
H-Index - 125
eISSN - 1097-0282
pISSN - 0006-3525
DOI - 10.1002/bip.1979.360180308
Subject(s) - disaccharide , peptidoglycan , chemistry , micrococcus luteus , protein subunit , peptide , hydrogen bond , stereochemistry , crystallography , biochemistry , cell wall , escherichia coli , molecule , organic chemistry , gene
Possible conformations of the disaccharide–peptide subunit of peptidoglycan (of Staphylococcus aureus or Micrococcus luteus ) have been studied by an energy‐minimization procedure. The favored conformation of the disaccharide N ‐acetyl‐glucosaminyl‐β(1–4)‐ N ‐acetylmuramic acid (NAG‐NAM) is different from that of cellulose or chitin; this disagrees with the assumption of earlier workers. The disaccharide–peptide subunit favors three types of conformations, among which two are compact and the third is extended. All these conformations are stabilized by intramolecular hydrogen bonds. Based on these conformations of the subunit, two different models are proposed for the three‐dimensional arrangement of peptidoglycan in the bacterial cell wall.