The teichoic acid from the walls of Lactobacillus buchneri N.C.I.B. 8007

Abstract

The teichoic-acid that represents approximately 30% of the dry weight of the walls of L. buchneri N.C.I.B. 8007, and is the group-E precipitino-gen, was isolated and its structure examined. The polymer consists of glycerol, phosphate, D-glucose and D-alanine. Hydrolysis with alkali gave glycerol, 2-O-[alpha]-D-glucopyranosylglycerol and a mixture of organic phosphates. These were separated and identified as glycerol mono- and di-phosphates, a diglycerol-triphosphate, a diglucosyldigly-cerol-phosphate and a glucosyldiglycerol-diphosphate. The teichoic-acid is a polymer of about 14 glycerol phosphate units, 4 of which have [alpha]-D-glucosyl residues on position-2 of the glycerol. The glycerol residues are joined through phosphodiester linkages involving positions 1 and 3 in each glycerol. A few of the sugar residues are situated on adjacent glycerol units, and most of the remaining glycerol units bear D-alanine ester residues at position-2.