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Journal of Bacteriology, July 2001, p. 3842-3847, Vol. 183, No. 13
Department of Molecular Biology and
Microbiology, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston,
Massachusetts 02111
Received 7 March 2001/Accepted 6 April 2001
Turnover and recycling of the cell wall murein represent a major
metabolic pathway of Escherichia coli. It is known that
E. coli efficiently reuses, i.e., recycles, its murein
tripeptide, L-alanyl-
0021-9193/01/$04.00+0 DOI: 10.1128/JB.183.13.3842-3847.2001
Copyright © 2001, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
Identification of a Dedicated Recycling Pathway for
Anhydro-N-Acetylmuramic Acid and
N-Acetylglucosamine Derived from Escherichia
coli Cell Wall Murein
-D-glutamyl-meso-diaminopimelate,
to form new murein. However, the question of whether the cells also
recycle the amino sugar moieties of cell wall murein has remained
unanswered. It is demonstrated here that E. coli recycles
the N-acetylglucosamine present in cell wall murein
degradation products for de novo murein and lipopolysaccharide
synthesis. Furthermore, E. coli also recycles the
anhydro-N-acetylmuramic acid moiety by first converting it into N-acetylglucosamine. Based on the results obtained
by studying mutants unable to recycle amino sugars, the pathway for
recycling is revealed.
*
Mailing address: Department of Molecular Biology and
Microbiology, Tufts University School of Medicine, 136 Harrison Ave., Boston, MA 02111. Phone: (617) 636-6753. Fax: (617) 636-0337. E-mail:
james.park{at}tufts.edu.
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