The peptidoglycan or murein sacculus is the stress-bearing structure of bacterial cells. It consists of glycan strands cross-linked by peptide bridges. Even though studies on murein have a very long tradition, it is not known how the glycan strands are actually arranged.
The chemical fine structure and the muropeptide composition of different Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria have been investigated in detail.
Escherichia coli and
Staphylococcus aureus are generally considered representatives for both Gram forms. During cell growth the stress-bearing structure has to be elongated and/or divided by the insertion of new and elimination of old material without losing its strength. Therefore multienzyme complexes containing both murein synthases and murein hydrolases have been postulated.
Peptidoglycan biosynthesis is the target for many antibiotics such as β-lactams, D-cycloserine and glycopeptide-antibiotics such as vancomycin. Bacteria have developed a number of different strategies for coping with antibiotic and osmotic stress.
from Ute Bertsche
in Bacterial Polysaccharides: Current Innovations and Future TrendsFurther reading:
- Bacterial Polysaccharides
- Microbial Production of Biopolymers and Polymer Precursors
- Microbiology Books
Labels: antibiotic resistance, biopolymers, peptidoglycan, polysaccharides