SUMMARY: About one-third of the C55 isoprenoid alcohol, bactoprenol, in Lactobacillus casei and L. plantarum cells was in the mesosomes and two-thirds in the plasma membrane. After removal of bound lysozyme from the plasma membrane, the concentration of bactoprenol per mg protein was the same in the mesosomes and in the plasma membrane. Pulse-labelling experiments and chasing with unlabelled precursor showed that bactoprenol is synthesized in both the plasma and mesosome membranes and that mesosomal bactoprenol is not a precursor of plasma membrane bactoprenol. These findings are discussed in relation to the involvement of bactoprenol in cell-wall synthesis.
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