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Journal of Bacteriology, November 2007, p. 8381-8386, Vol. 189, No. 22
0021-9193/07/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JB.01201-07
Copyright © 2007, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

The Alanine Racemase of Mycobacterium smegmatis Is Essential for Growth in the Absence of D-Alanine{triangledown} ,{dagger}

Daniel L. Milligan,1 Sieu L. Tran,2 Ulrich Strych,3 Gregory M. Cook,2 and Kurt L. Krause1*

Department of Biochemistry,1 Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Otago School of Medical Sciences, University of Otago, P.O. Box 56, Dunedin, New Zealand,2 Department of Biology and Biochemistry, University of Houston, Houston, Texas 77204-50013

Received 26 July 2007/ Accepted 31 August 2007

Alanine racemase, encoded by the gene alr, is an important enzyme in the synthesis of D-alanine for peptidoglycan biosynthesis. Strains of Mycobacterium smegmatis with a deletion mutation of the alr gene were found to require D-alanine for growth in both rich and minimal media. This indicates that alanine racemase is the only source of D-alanine for cell wall biosynthesis in M. smegmatis and confirms alanine racemase as a viable target gene for antimycobacterial drug development.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Biochemistry, Otago School of Medical Sciences, University of Otago, P.O. Box 56, Dunedin, New Zealand. Phone: 64 3 479 5166. Fax: 64 3 479 7866. E-mail: kurt.krause{at}stonebow.otago.ac.nz

{triangledown} Published ahead of print on 7 September 2007.

{dagger} We dedicate this article to the late John Curtis Thrash, Jr., a noted philanthropist and businessman from Houston, Texas.

Journal of Bacteriology, November 2007, p. 8381-8386, Vol. 189, No. 22
0021-9193/07/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JB.01201-07
Copyright © 2007, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



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