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Heterogeneity of lipoteichoic acid detected by anion exchange chromatography

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Abstract

A complex polydispersity became apparent when the poly(glycerophosphate) lipoteichoic acid of Enterococcus faecalis was chromatographed on DEAE-sephadex. The chain length varied between 13 and 33 glycerophosphate residues per lipid anchor. In parallel, the extent of chain glycosylation increased from 0.2 to 0.4 diglucosyl residues per glycerophosphate unit. Substitution with D-alanine ester showed a reverse distribution dropping with increasing chain length from 0.53 to 0.23 mol D-alanine per mol phosphorus. Variations in the fatty acid composition were also observed.

The results extent and modify the current picture of lipoteichoic acid biosynthesis. They further suggest that during infection the mammalian organism may be confronted particularly with long-chain less hydrophobic molecular species.

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Abbreviations

Acyl2Gro:

1,2-di-O-acylglycerol

Glc:

d-glucopyranosyl

Gro:

glycerol

Man:

d-mannopyranosyl

Ptd:

phosphatidyl (1,2-di-O-acyl-, 3-phosphorylglycerol)

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institut für Biochemie der Medizinischen Fakultät der Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Fahrstrass 17, W-8520, Erlangen, Federal Republic of Germany

    Klaus Leopold & Werner Fischer

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  1. Klaus Leopold
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  2. Werner Fischer
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Leopold, K., Fischer, W. Heterogeneity of lipoteichoic acid detected by anion exchange chromatography. Arch. Microbiol. 157, 446–450 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00249103

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00249103

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