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Volume 137, Issue 4

Genetic and biochemical characterization of 168 mutants specifically blocked in the synthesis of the teichoic acid poly(3--β--glucopyranosyl-N-acetylgalactosamine 1-phosphate): , a new locus, is associated with UDP-N-acetylglucosamine 4-epimerase activity Free

Abstract

Summary: The resistance spectrum to bacteriophase ø3T of different 168/W23 strains hybrid for wall teichoic acids suggested that poly(3--β--glucopyranosyl-N-acetylgalactosamine 1-phosphate), a so-called minor teichoic acid of strain 168, forms part of the receptor for this phage, and a serologically related group of phages. A representative sample of 25 mutants specifically resistant to ø3T, obtained from a mutagenized culture by direct selection, were all found to have a greatly reduced galactosamine content. Relevant mutations in these strains were shown by PBS1 transduction and transformation to belong to two linkage groups; a minority, associated with an atypical colony morphology, were localized between and , wherease the majority mapped between and (formerly ), a region containing all known genes involved in the synthesis of the major wall teichoic acid, poly(glycerol phosphate). The fomer mutations mapped in a new locus, , characterized by a deficiency in UDP-N-acetylglucosamine 4-epimerase, while the latter ones, as well as the previously identified -3 ( Estrela , 1986 , 132, 411–415), map in a lucus named . They are likely to affect membrane-bound enzymes involved in the synthesis of the galactosamine-containing teichoic acid. A possible biological role of this polymer is discussed.

  • Received:
  • Accepted:
  • Revised:
  • Published Online:
© Society for General Microbiology 1991
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1991-04-01
2025-04-21
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/content/journal/micro/10.1099/00221287-137-4-943
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Genetic and biochemical characterization of Bacillus subtilis 168 mutants specifically blocked in the synthesis of the teichoic acid poly(3-O-β-d-glucopyranosyl-N-acetylgalactosamine 1-phosphate): gneA, a new locus, is associated with UDP-N-acetylglucosamine 4-epimerase activity
Microbiology 137, 943 (1991); https://doi.org/10.1099/00221287-137-4-943
/content/journal/micro/10.1099/00221287-137-4-943
/content/journal/micro/10.1099/00221287-137-4-943
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