Mutations affecting peptidoglycan acetylation in Neisseria gonorrhoeae and Neisseria meningitidis.

ABSTRACT: Neisseria gonorrhoeae acetylates its cell wall peptidoglycan (PG) at the C-6 position on N-acetylmuramic acid. To understand the effects of PG acetylation on PG metabolism and release of PG fragments, we have made mutations in the genes responsible for PG acetylation. An insertion mutation in a putative PG acetylase gene (designated pacA) resulted in loss of PG acetylation as detected by a high-performance liquid chromatography-based assay. Sequence analysis of a naturally occurring non-acetylating strain revealed the presence of a 26-bp deletion in pacA. Introduction of the deletion mutation into wild-type gonococci resulted in lack of acetylation, and the phenotype was complemented by the addition of a wild-type copy of pacA at a distant location on the chromosome. Mutations were also in

SUBMITTER: Dillard JP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1231103 | biostudies-literature | 2005 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature