title: Synthesis of teichoic acid by Bacillus subtilis protoplasts.
abstract: Protoplasts of Bacillus subtilis W23 readily synthesized ribitol teichoic acid from nucleotide precursors in the surrounding medium. With cytidine diphosphate-ribitol they made poly(ribitol phosphate), presumably attached to lipoteichoic acid carrier; when cytidine diphosphate-glycerol and uridine diphosphate-N-acetylglucosamine were also present a 10-fold increase in the rate of polymer synthesis occurred, and the product contained both the main chain and the linkage unit. Synthesis was inhibited by trypsin or p-chloromercuribenzenesulfonate in the medium, and we concluded that it occurred at the outer surface of the membrane. During synthesis, which was also achieved readily by whole cells after a brief period of wall lysis, the cytidine phosphate portion of the nucleotide precursors did not pass through the membrane. No evidence could be obtained for a transphosphorylation mechanism for the translocation process. It is suggested that reaction with exogenous substrates was due to temporary exposure of a protein component of the enzyme complex at the outer surface of the membrane during the normal biosynthetic cycle.
mesh_terms: D002731:4-Chloromercuribenzenesulfonate / Q000494:pharmacology; D001412:Bacillus subtilis / Q000378:metabolism*; D003570:Cytidine Triphosphate / Q000378:metabolism; D009245:NADH Dehydrogenase / Q000378:metabolism; D009702:Nucleoside Diphosphate Sugars / Q000378:metabolism; D009713:Nucleotidyltransferases / Q000378:metabolism; D011134:Polysaccharides / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D011523:Protoplasts / Q000378:metabolism*; D012255:Ribitol / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000096:biosynthesis; D013682:Teichoic Acids / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D014357:Trypsin / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D009702:Nucleoside Diphosphate Sugars; D011134:Polysaccharides; D013682:Teichoic Acids; D012255:Ribitol; C008984:polyribitol phosphate; D002731:4-Chloromercuribenzenesulfonate; D003570:Cytidine Triphosphate; D009245:NADH Dehydrogenase; D009713:Nucleotidyltransferases; C032634:D-ribitol-5-phosphate cytidylyltransferase; D014357:Trypsin