title: The dlt operon in the biosynthesis of D-alanyl-lipoteichoic acid in Lactobacillus casei.
abstract: The D-alanine incorporation system allows Lactobacillus casei to modulate the chemical properties of lipoteichoic acid (LTA) and hence control its proposed functions, i.e., regulation of autolysin action, metal ion binding, and the electromechanical properties of the cell wall. The system requires the D-alanine-D-alanyl carrier protein ligase (Dcl) and the D-alanyl carrier protein (Dcp). Our results indicate that the genes for these proteins are encoded in the dlt operon and that this operon contains at least 2 other genes, dltB and dltD. The aim of this paper is to describe the genetic organization of the operon, the role of the D-alanyl carrier protein, and the function of the putative protein encoded by dltB in the intramembranal translocation of the activated D-alanine.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, and Cell Biology, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, USA.
authors.forename: F C
authors.initials: FC
authors.lastname: Neuhaus
authors.forename: M P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Heaton
authors.forename: D V
authors.initials: DV
authors.lastname: Debabov
authors.forename: Q
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D005798:Genes, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D007780:Lacticaseibacillus casei / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D009876:Operon / Q000235:genetics*; D013682:Teichoic Acids / Q000096:biosynthesis*
chemical_list: D002352:Carrier Proteins; D013682:Teichoic Acids; C026244:alanyl-lipoteichoic acid