Open AccessDistribution analyses of chain substituents of lipoteichoic acids by chemical degradation
Author(s) -
SCHUREK Josef,
FISCHER Werner
Publication year - 1989
Publication title -
european journal of biochemistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1432-1033
pISSN - 0014-2956
DOI - 10.1111/j.1432-1033.1989.tb15255.x
Subject(s) - lipoteichoic acid , chemistry , hydrolysis , cleavage (geology) , sephadex , stereochemistry , alanine , acid hydrolysis , acetic acid , side chain , molecular mass , amino acid , enzyme , chromatography , biochemistry , organic chemistry , bacteria , biology , paleontology , fracture (geology) , genetics , staphylococcus aureus , polymer
The lipoteichoic acid from Lactococcus lactis Kiel 48337 was analyzed. It had 61% of its glycerophosphate residues substituted with α‐ d ‐galactopyranosyl residues. Non‐substituted glycerophosphate residues were split off by two alkaline hydrolyses and an intermediate enzymatic phosphomonoester cleavage. The resulting (GalGro P ) n GroGal and (GalGro P ) n Glc 2 Gro oligomers were separated by chromatography on DEAE‐Sephadex into 10 pairs of molecular species with n from 1 to 10. The relative frequencies of GalGro and these oligomers were close to the values calculated by computer simulation for a random distribution of chain substituents. A similar series of oligomers was obtained in one step by hydrolysis of the lipoteichoic acid with 98% (by vol.) acetic acid. Due to side reactions, the picture was less precise but nevertheless indicative of the same distribution pattern. The data provide indirect evidence that the alanine ester substituents of the native lipoteichoic acid (Ala/ P = 0.38) occupy the free positions between the galactosylated oligomers and are therefore themselves distributed randomly.