Open AccessThe Structure of Teichoic Acid from Bacillus subtilis var. niger WM as Determined by 13 C Nuclear‐Magnetic‐Resonance Spectroscopy
Author(s) -
BOER Willem R.,
KRUYSSEN Fred J.,
WOUTERS Jan T. M.,
KRUK Cornelis
Publication year - 1976
Publication title -
european journal of biochemistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1432-1033
pISSN - 0014-2956
DOI - 10.1111/j.1432-1033.1976.tb10090.x
Subject(s) - teichoic acid , hydrolysis , phosphate , glycerol , chemistry , bacillus subtilis , nuclear chemistry , nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy , acid hydrolysis , biochemistry , organic chemistry , bacteria , enzyme , biology , peptidoglycan , genetics
The walls of Bacillus subtilis var. niger WM, grown in a Mg 2+ ‐limited chemostat culture (carbon source glucose, dilution rate = 0.2 h −1 , 37 °C, pH 7) contained 45 % (w/w) teichoic acid, a polymer composed of glycerol, phosphate and glucose in the molar ratio 1.00: 1.00: 0.88, respectively. Alkaline hydrolysis of this teichoic acid yielded 1‐ O ‐ β ‐glucosylglycerol phosphate (together with small amounts of glycerol phosphate) and 13 C nuclear magnetic resonance spectra of this hydrolysis product, and its derivative after alkaline phosphatase treatment, confirmed, that the monomeric unit was 1‐ O ‐ β ‐glucosylglycerol‐3‐phosphate. Assignment of the resonances in the spectrum of undegraded teichoic acid revealed that the polymer was a poly[(2,3)glycerol phosphate], glucosidically substituted on C‐1 of glycerol with β ‐glucose.