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J Bacteriol. 1968 August; 96(2): 421-427
Copyright © 1968 American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Ratio of Teichoic Acid and Peptidoglycan in Cell Walls of Bacillus subtilis Following Spore Germination and During Vegetative Growth

^a Department of Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin 53706

ABSTRACT

Cell walls were isolated from cells of Bacillus subtilis strain Marburg during synchronous outgrowth of spores, during the two synchronous cell divisions which followed, and at various times during exponential and early stationary growth. The amounts of teichoic acid and peptidoglycan components were determined in each cell wall preparation. The peptidoglycan is composed of hexosamine, alanine, diaminopimelic acid, and glutamic acid. The ratio of these was relatively constant in the cell walls at each stage of growth. The teichoic acid is composed of glycerol, phosphate, glucose, and ester-linked alanine. With the exception of glucose and ester-linked alanine, the ratios of these components were relatively constant throughout the growth cycle. There was a slight increase in the glucose content of the teichoic acid as the cells aged. There was no correlation between the amount of ester-linked alanine and the stage of growth. The ratio of teichoic acid (based upon phosphate content) to peptidoglycan (based upon diaminopimelic acid content) remained at nearly a constant level throughout the growth cycle. The conclusion is presented that these two cell wall polymers are coordinately synthesized during spore outgrowth and throughout the vegetative growth cycle.

¹ These studies were conducted in partial completion of the requirements for an M.S. degree at the University of Wisconsin while the senior author was a predoctoral trainee of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

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