scholarly journals Cell-wall thickening in Bacillus subtilis. Comparison of thickened and normal walls

1970 ◽  
Vol 120 (1) ◽  
pp. 159-170 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. C. Hughes ◽  
P. J. Tanner ◽  
Elaine Stokes
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acids ◽  
Cell Wall ◽  
Bacillus Subtilis ◽  
Cell Walls ◽  
Teichoic Acid ◽  
Cellular Growth ◽  
Wall Thickening ◽  
Complete Medium ◽  
Bacillus Subtilis 168 ◽  
Normal Wall

1. Incubation of Bacillus subtilis 168 trp in a glucose–amino acids–salts medium lacking tryptophan leads to an inhibition of cellular growth without affecting cell-wall synthesis. The cell walls increased approximately two- to three-fold in thickness and at the same time the amount of mucopeptide in the cells measured chemically increased to about the same extent. 2. Synthesis of mucopeptide and teichoic acid as measured by the extent of incorporation of radioactivity continued linearly for approximately 1h and then stopped. No reason was found for the strictly limited synthesis of the wall polymers. 3. The initial rates of incorporation of [32P]Pi or [3H]alanine into teichoic acid and of 3H-labelled amino acids into mucopeptide were not appreciably inhibited by the addition of chloramphenicol to the glucose–amino acids–salts medium. 4. There was no selective turnover of the mucopeptide synthesized by the cells in a medium lacking tryptophan on resumption of growth in a complete medium. 5. Wall synthesis taking place during the thickening process was similar to normal wall synthesis proceeding in growing cells. Walls of different thicknesses prepared from cells incubated for various times in incomplete medium did not differ qualitatively in composition. The products of autolysis of thickened walls were isolated and the analyses indicated a close similarity in the details of their mucopeptide structure compared with the mucopeptide of cells growing in the exponential phase.

Levels of cell wall enzymes in endospores and vegetative cells of Bacillus subtilis

1982 ◽  
Vol 152 (3) ◽  
pp. 1147-1153
Author(s):  
V M Reusch ◽  
S G Hale ◽  
B J Hurly
Keyword(s):  
Cell Wall ◽  
Bacillus Subtilis ◽  
Teichoic Acid ◽  
Glass Beads ◽  
Alanine Racemase ◽  
Differential Centrifugation ◽  
Acid Biosynthesis ◽  
Bacillus Subtilis 168 ◽  
Cell Wall Enzymes ◽  
Specific Activities

Vegetative bacilli and refractile endospores of Bacillus subtilis 168 were disrupted by homogenization with glass beads and fractionated by differential centrifugation. Most of the protein of endospores was particulate, whereas for bacilli most was soluble. Alanine racemase activity was sixfold higher in extract of endospores than in extract of bacilli and was particulate, whereas the enzyme from bacilli was soluble. The specific activities of seven other enzymes involved in peptidoglycan and teichoic acid biosynthesis were higher in extracts of bacilli than in those of endospores. The results suggest that restoration of activities of these seven enzymes to vegetative levels occurs during germination and outgrowth.

scholarly journals Teichoic Acid Is an Essential Polymer in Bacillus subtilis That Is Functionally Distinct from Teichuronic Acid

2004 ◽  
Vol 186 (23) ◽  
pp. 7865-7873 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amit P. Bhavsar ◽  
Laura K. Erdman ◽  
Jeffrey W. Schertzer ◽  
Eric D. Brown
Keyword(s):  
Cell Wall ◽  
Bacillus Subtilis ◽  
Teichoic Acid ◽  
Wall Thickening ◽  
Glycerol Phosphate ◽  
Wall Teichoic Acid ◽  
Teichoic Acids ◽  
Gram Positive Bacteria ◽  
Teichuronic Acid ◽  
Wall Teichoic Acids

ABSTRACT Wall teichoic acids are anionic, phosphate-rich polymers linked to the peptidoglycan of gram-positive bacteria. In Bacillus subtilis, the predominant wall teichoic acid types are poly(glycerol phosphate) in strain 168 and poly(ribitol phosphate) in strain W23, and they are synthesized by the tag and tar gene products, respectively. Growing evidence suggests that wall teichoic acids are essential in B. subtilis; however, it is widely believed that teichoic acids are dispensable under phosphate-limiting conditions. In the work reported here, we carefully studied the dispensability of teichoic acid under phosphate-limiting conditions by constructing three new mutants. These strains, having precise deletions in tagB, tagF, and tarD, were dependent on xylose-inducible complementation from a distal locus (amyE) for growth. The tarD deletion interrupted poly(ribitol phosphate) synthesis in B. subtilis and represents a unique deletion of a tar gene. When teichoic acid biosynthetic proteins were depleted, the mutants showed a coccoid morphology and cell wall thickening. The new wall teichoic acid biogenesis mutants generated in this work and a previously reported tagD mutant were not viable under phosphate-limiting conditions in the absence of complementation. Cell wall analysis of B. subtilis grown under phosphate-limited conditions showed that teichoic acid contributed approximately one-third of the wall anionic content. These data suggest that wall teichoic acid has an essential function in B. subtilis that cannot be replaced by teichuronic acid.

scholarly journals The lytE Gene of Bacillus subtilis 168 Encodes a Cell Wall Hydrolase

1998 ◽  
Vol 180 (3) ◽  
pp. 749-752 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philippe Margot ◽  
Michael Wahlen ◽  
Ahmad Gholamhuseinian ◽  
Patrick Piggot ◽  
Dimitri Karamata
Keyword(s):  
Cell Wall ◽  
Bacillus Subtilis ◽  
Cell Walls ◽  
Exponential Growth Phase ◽  
Terminal Domain ◽  
Bacillus Subtilis 168 ◽  
Phase Sequence ◽  
Cell Autolysis ◽  
A Cell ◽  
Repeated Motif

ABSTRACT Bacillus subtilis cell wall-bound protein CWBP33 is encoded by lytE, a gene expressed during the exponential growth phase. Sequence analysis of LytE, a 33-kDa protein, reveals two domains. The N-terminal domain contains a threefold-repeated motif common to several peptidoglycan binding proteins, while the C-terminal domain, probably carrying the catalytic activity, has homology with certain exoproteins. Zymographs unambiguously reveal that the absence of CWBP33, due to inactivation of lytE, is accompanied by the loss of a lytic activity. In lytE mutants, the cell autolysis rate is significantly decreased, although autolysis of corresponding, purified cell walls does not seem to be affected.

scholarly journals Cell Walls of a Teichoic Acid Deficient Mutant of Bacillus subtilis

1971 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 442-450 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean Heijenoort ◽  
Daniele Menjon ◽  
Bernard Flouret ◽  
Jekisiel Szulmajster ◽  
Jean Laporte ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bacillus Subtilis ◽  
Cell Walls ◽  
Teichoic Acid ◽  
Deficient Mutant

Controlled lysis of bacterial cells utilizing mutants with defective synthesis of D-alanine

1988 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 256-261 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael P. Heaton ◽  
Robert B. Johnston ◽  
Thomas L. Thompson
Keyword(s):  
Cell Wall ◽  
Bacillus Subtilis ◽  
Cell Walls ◽  
Alanine Racemase ◽  
Growth Media ◽  
Bacterial Cells ◽  
Cell Wall Formation ◽  
Fermentation Processes ◽  
Intracellular Enzymes ◽  
Dense Cell

An alanine racemase (EC 5.1.1.1) mutant (Dal−) of Bacillus subtilis required small amounts of D-alanine to synthesize an osmotically stable cell wall in certain growth media. Investigation of the conditions which caused lysis in hypotonic media revealed that in addition to complex media, such as nutrient broth and acid-hydrolyzed casein, glycine inhibited stable cell wall formation. D-Alanine prevented the glycine inhibition. Up to 99% lysis occurred in both dilute and dense cell suspensions (optical densities up to 110) within 2.5 h after adding 1% glycine to late log phase cultures. Intracellular enzymes recovered from the lysate were as active as those from lysozyme-disrupted cells. No amino acid tested other than glycine induced lysis. Dal− mutants can be used for controlled lysis of bacterial cells to facilitate the isolation of normal intracellular constituents and bioengineered products from fermentation processes. Cell walls of most bacteria contain D-alanine; thus, this strategy should be applicable to a wide variety of microorganisms.

scholarly journals Characterization of a Bacillus subtilis Thermosensitive Teichoic Acid-Deficient Mutant: Gene mnaA (yvyH) Encodes the UDP-N-Acetylglucosamine 2-Epimerase

2002 ◽  
Vol 184 (15) ◽  
pp. 4316-4320 ◽  
Author(s):  
Blazenka Soldo ◽  
Vladimir Lazarevic ◽  
Harold M. Pooley ◽  
Dimitri Karamata
Keyword(s):  
Cell Wall ◽  
Bacillus Subtilis ◽  
Cell Morphology ◽  
Teichoic Acid ◽  
Mutant Gene ◽  
Deficient Mutant ◽  
Phosphate Content ◽  
Nonpermissive Temperature ◽  
Coccoid Cell

ABSTRACT The Bacillus subtilis thermosensitive mutant ts-21 bears two C-G→T-A transitions in the mnaA gene. At the nonpermissive temperature it is characterized by coccoid cell morphology and reduced cell wall phosphate content. MnaA converts UDP-N-acetylglucosamine into UDP-N-acetylmannosamine, a precursor of the teichoic acid linkage unit.

A novel type of teichoic acid from the cell wall of Bacillus subtilis VKM B-762

2011 ◽  
Vol 346 (9) ◽  
pp. 1173-1177 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander S. Shashkov ◽  
Galina M. Streshinskaya ◽  
Yuliya I. Kozlova ◽  
Sof’ya N. Senchenkova ◽  
Nikolay P. Arbatsky ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cell Wall ◽  
Bacillus Subtilis ◽  
Teichoic Acid

scholarly journals Control of teichoic acid and teichuronic acid biosynthesis in chemostat cultures of Bacillus subtilis var. niger

1969 ◽  
Vol 111 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-5 ◽  
Author(s):  
D C Ellwood ◽  
D. W. Tempest
Keyword(s):  
Cell Wall ◽  
Bacillus Subtilis ◽  
Teichoic Acid ◽  
Extracellular Fluid ◽  
Acid Synthesis ◽  
Growth Cycle ◽  
Wall Material ◽  
Wall Teichoic Acid ◽  
Anionic Polymers ◽  
Teichuronic Acid

1. Quantitative determination of the anionic polymers present in the walls of Bacillus subtilis var. niger organisms undergoing transition, in a chemostat culture, from either Mg2+-limitation to PO43−-limitation or K+-limitation to PO43−-limitation showed that teichuronic acid synthesis started immediately the culture became PO43−-limited and proceeded at a rate substantially faster than the rate of biomass synthesis. 2. Simultaneously, the cell-wall teichoic acid content diminished at a rate greater than that due to dilution by newly synthesized wall material, and fragments of teichoic acid and mucopeptide accumulated in the culture extracellular fluid. 3. Equally rapid reverse changes occurred when a PO43−-limited B. subtilis var. niger culture was returned to being Mg2+-limited. 4. It is concluded that in this organism both teichoic acid and teichuronic acid syntheses are expressions of a single genotype, and a mechanism for the control of synthesis of both polymers is suggested. 5. These results are discussed with reference to the constantly changing environmental conditions that obtain in a batch culture and the variation in bacterial cell-wall composition that is reported to occur throughout the growth cycle.

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