BIO SCI M122 Lecture Notes - Teichoic Acid, Peptidoglycan, Periplasm
25 Jan 2022
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Document Summary
The gram-positive cell wall, which is made up of a thick peptidoglycan layer, contains the polymer teichoic acid. G+ bacteria, meaning it is what the immune systems of hosts recognize and use to attack the bacteria. Each monomer is composed of glycerol, phosphate, and alanine or glucose. The phosphate is negatively charged, giving the acid and cell wall an overall negative charge which is used in maintaining the proton gradient used in atp production. Teichoic acid is attached to nam via the tetrapeptide tail while lipoteichoic acid uses a short lipid anchor to attach to the inner tails of the plasma membrane. Gram-positive cell walls are sensitive to antibiotics like penicillin, which inhibit peptidoglycan production by preventing cross-bridge formation between nam tails. The g+ cell periplasmic space, which is the area between the cell membrane and peptidoglycan layer, contains exoenzymes that pre-process nutrients and toxins so that they can better be used or broken down once in the cell.
