Clostridium difficile has an original peptidoglycan structure with a high level of N-acetylglucosamine deacetylation and mainly 3-3 cross-links.

ABSTRACT: The structure of the vegetative cell wall peptidoglycan of Clostridium difficile was determined by analysis of its constituent muropeptides with a combination of reverse-phase high pressure liquid chromatography separation of muropeptides, amino acid analysis, mass spectrometry and tandem mass spectrometry. The structures assigned to 36 muropeptides evidenced several original features in C. difficile vegetative cell peptidoglycan. First, it is characterized by a strikingly high level of N-acetylglucosamine deacetylation. In addition, the majority of dimers (around 75%) contains A(2)pm(3) → A(2)pm(3) (A(2)pm, 2,6-diaminopimelic acid) cross-links and only a minority of the more classical Ala(4) → A(2)pm(3) cross-links. Moreover, a significant amount of muropeptides contains a modified tetrap

SUBMITTER: Peltier J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3190713 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature