title: Identification of an isolated protein essential for peptidoglycan synthesis as the N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase.
abstract: We have identified a protein extractable from Bacillus megaterium membranes by LiCl as the enzyme in peptidoglycan synthesis which catalyzes the transfer of N-acetylglucosamine from UDP-N-acetylglucosamine to N-acetyl-D-muramyl-L-analyl-D-gamma-glutamyl-meso-diaminopimelyl-D-alanyl-D-alanine-P-P-lipid. This identification demonstrates the isolation and characterization of a membrane-associated enzyme involved in a complex series of reactions without the ready availability of a substrate for the enzyme.
mesh_terms: D000117:Acetylglucosamine; D001412:Bacillus subtilis / Q000201:enzymology*; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000201:enzymology; D006602:Hexosyltransferases / Q000378:metabolism*; D007700:Kinetics; D010457:Peptidoglycan / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D014537:Uridine Diphosphate N-Acetylglucosamine
chemical_list: D010457:Peptidoglycan; D014537:Uridine Diphosphate N-Acetylglucosamine; D006602:Hexosyltransferases; D000117:Acetylglucosamine