title: Regulation of bacterial cell walls: turnover of cell wall in Staphylococcus aureus.
abstract: The cell wall of Staphylococcus aureus was shown to undergo turnover during exponential growth. The rate of turnover, about 15% per generation, was identical for both cell wall polymers, peptidoglycan and teichoic acid. Both the old and newly synthesized wall material appeared to undergo turnover at similar rates. The rate of turnover followed first-order kinetics until more than 90% of the original wall was lost. Cell wall turnover was completely blocked under conditions of unbalanced synthesis known to inhibit cellular autolysis, e.g., addition of chloramphenicol. Cell wall turnover was shown to occur in a number of different strains of S. aureus and appears to be widely distributed in this species.
mesh_terms: D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D002250:Carbon Radioisotopes; D002473:Cell Wall / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D002701:Chloramphenicol / Q000494:pharmacology; D003470:Culture Media; D005998:Glycine / Q000378:metabolism; D007700:Kinetics; D010457:Peptidoglycan / Q000096:biosynthesis; D013045:Species Specificity; D013210:Staphylococcus / Q000166:cytology* / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D013682:Teichoic Acids / Q000378:metabolism; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D002250:Carbon Radioisotopes; D003470:Culture Media; D010457:Peptidoglycan; D013682:Teichoic Acids; D002701:Chloramphenicol; D005998:Glycine