Abnormal Peptidoglycan Produced in a Methicillin-Resistant Strain of Staphylococcus aureus Grown in the Presence of Methicillin: Functional Role for Penicillin-Binding Protein 2A in Cell Wall Synthesis

Abstract

Upon the addition of methicillin even at relatively low concentrations (5 μg/ml or 0.3% of the MIC) to the medium, methicillin-resistant staphylococci shift to the production of a new peptidoglycan with an abnormal muropeptide composition which may be the synthetic product of penicillin-binding protein 2A.