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Journal of Bacteriology, January 1999, p. 418-425, Vol. 181, No. 2
Department of Microbiology, University of
Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii 968221;
Institute for Genetics and Microbiology, University of
Munich, Munich, Germany2; and
Pasteur
Institute, Paris, France3
Received 6 July 1998/Accepted 8 October 1998
We have identified a novel gene, gtcA, involved in the
decoration of cell wall teichoic acid of Listeria
monocytogenes serotype 4b with galactose and glucose.
Insertional inactivation of gtcA brought about loss of
reactivity with the serotype 4b-specific monoclonal antibody c74.22 and
was accompanied by a complete lack of galactose and a marked reduction
in the amounts of glucose on teichoic acid. Interestingly, the
composition of membrane-associated lipoteichoic acid was not
affected. Complementation of the mutants with the cloned
gtcA in trans restored galactose and glucose on teichoic acid to wild-type levels. The complemented strains also recovered reactivity with c74.22. Within L. monocytogenes,
sequences homologous to gtcA were found in all
serogroup 4 isolates but not in strains of any other serotypes. In
serotype 4b, gtcA appears to be the first member of a
bicistronic operon which includes a gene with homology to
Bacillus subtilis rpmE, encoding ribosomal protein L31. In
contrast to gtcA, the latter gene appears conserved among
all screened serotypes of L. monocytogenes.
0021-9193/99/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
Cell Wall Teichoic Acid Glycosylation in
Listeria monocytogenes Serotype 4b Requires gtcA,
a Novel, Serogroup-Specific Gene

*
Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of
Microbiology, University of Hawaii, 2538 The Mall, Snyder 207, Honolulu, HI 96822. Phone: (808) 956-8015. Fax: (808) 956-5339. E-mail: ksophia{at}hawaii.edu.
Present address: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
Atlanta, Ga.
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