Lipoteichoic acid of Streptococcus oralis Uo5: a novel biochemical structure comprising an unusual phosphorylcholine substitution pattern compared to Streptococcus pneumoniae.

ABSTRACT: Members of the Mitis group of streptococci possess teichoic acids (TAs) as integral components of their cell wall that are unique among Gram-positive bacteria. Both, lipoteichoic (LTA) and wall teichoic acid, are formed by the same biosynthetic pathway, are of high complexity and contain phosphorylcholine (P-Cho) residues. These residues serve as anchors for choline-binding proteins (CBPs), some of which have been identified as virulence factors of the human pathogen Streptococcus pneumoniae. We investigated the LTA structure of its close relative Streptococcus oralis. Our analysis revealed that S. oralis Uo5 LTA has an overall architecture similar to pneumococcal LTA (pnLTA) and can be considered as a subtype of type IV LTA. Its structural complexity is even higher than that of pnLTA and

SUBMITTER: Gisch N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4649388 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature