Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Grundling A
PROVIDER: S-EPMC1895975 | biostudies-literature | 2007 May
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Gründling Angelika A Schneewind Olaf O
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 20070503 20
Lipoteichoic acid (LTA), a glycerol phosphate surface polymer, is a component of the envelope of Gram-positive bacteria. However, the molecular basis for its synthesis or function is not known. Here we report that Staphylococcus aureus LtaS synthesizes glycerol phosphate LTA. Construction of a mutant S. aureus strain with inducible ltaS expression revealed that LTA synthesis is required for bacterial growth and cell division. An ltaS homologue of Bacillus subtilis restored LTA synthesis and the ...[more]