title: Studies on glucosyltransferase and endogenous glucosyl acceptor in Bacillus cereus AHU 1030 membranes.
abstract: A glucosyltransferase, extracted from the membranes of Bacillus cereus AHU 1030 with Tris-HCl buffer containing 0.1% Triton X-100 at pH 9.5, was separated from an endogenous glucosyl acceptor by chromatography on DEAE-Sepharose CL-6B subsequent to chromatography on Sepharose 6B. Structural analysis data showed that the glucosyl acceptor was a glycerol phosphate polymer linked to beta-gentiobiosyl diglyceride. The enzyme catalyzed the transfer of glucosyl residues from UDP-glucose to C-2 of the glycerol residues of repeating units of the acceptor. On the other hand, a lipoteichoic acid which contained 0.3 D-alanine residue per phosphorus was isolated from the cells by phenol treatment at pH 4.6. Except for the presence of D-alanine, this lipoteichoic acid had the same structure as the glucosyl acceptor. The rate of glucosylation observed with the D-alanine-containing lipoteichoic acid as the substrate was less than 40% of that observed with the D-alanine-free lipoteichoic acid, indicating that the ester-linked D-alanine in the lipoteichoic acid interferes with the action of the glucosyltransferase. The enzyme also catalyzed glucosylation of poly(glycerol phosphate) which was synthesized in the reaction of a separate enzyme fraction with CDP-glycerol. Thus, it is likely that the glucosyltransferase functions in the synthesis of cell wall teichoic acid.
mesh_terms: D001409:Bacillus cereus / Q000378:metabolism*; D002384:Catalysis; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000378:metabolism; D002845:Chromatography / Q000379:methods; D004075:Diglycerides / Q000378:metabolism; D004187:Disaccharides / Q000378:metabolism; D005964:Glucosyltransferases / Q000378:metabolism*; D005994:Glycerophosphates / Q000378:metabolism; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides; D010712:Phosphatidic Acids / Q000378:metabolism; D011108:Polymers / Q000378:metabolism*; D013682:Teichoic Acids / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D004075:Diglycerides; D004187:Disaccharides; D005994:Glycerophosphates; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides; D010712:Phosphatidic Acids; D011108:Polymers; D013682:Teichoic Acids; C009900:lipoteichoic acid; D005964:Glucosyltransferases