The chemical composition and structure of the cell walls of Bacillus coagulans NRS no. T2007

Abstract

(1) Bacillus coagulans NRS no. T2007 was grown at 55° and its cell wall chemical composition and structure examined. (2) A glycerol teichoic acid was extracted from the isolated cell walls with 10% trichloroacetic acid. (3) The extracted polymer accounted for 51% of the total cell wall phosphorus, and residual wall material could be hydrolysed to a mixture of products including those characteristic of the extracted teichoic acid. (4) The teichoic acid is composed of glycerol, phosphate, galactose and glucose. (5) The structure of a statistical repeating unit of the teichoic acid is presented (6) The teichoic acid is a polymer of 38 glycerophosphate units, having α-D-galaptopyranosyl attached to position 2 of each glycerol residue. (7) The glycerol residues are joined by phosphodiester linkages involving position 3 in each glycerol and the galactose residue substituted at the 2 position of each glycerol residue. (8) Three in every four of the galactosylglycerolphosphate residues have α-D-glucopyranosyl glycosidically linked to position 2 of the galactose moiety. (9) Results showed additional glycosidic substitution at the 1 position of glycerol, to be extremely variable. (10) The possibility of two different teichoic acid polymers is discussed. (11) Lysozyme digestion of whole cell walls showed the teichoic acid to be covalently bonded to the basal murein component. (12) The structure of the major muropeptide component of B. coagulans cell walls is also discussed. (13) A review of the present knowledge of bacterial cell wall chemical structure is presented in Part I. (14) The survey of literature for this thesis was concluded in May 1967.