Identification of MpaA,an amidase in Escherichia coli that hydrolyzes the gamma-D-glutamyl-meso-diaminopimelate bond in murein peptides

MpaA amidase was identified in Escherichia coli by its amino acid sequence homology with the ENP1 endopeptidase from Bacillus sphaericus. The enzymatic activity of MpaA, i.e., hydrolysis of the gamma-D-glutamyl-diaminopimelic acid bond in the murein tripeptide L-alanyl-gamma-D-glutamyl-meso-diaminopimelic acid, was demonstrated in the cell extract of a strain expressing mpaA from a multicopy plasmid. An mpaA mpl (murein peptide ligase) double mutant accumulated large amounts of murein tripeptide in its cytoplasm, consistent with the premise that MpaA degrades the tripeptide if its recycling via the peptidoglycan biosynthetic pathway is blocked.     

Determination of murein precursors during the cell cycle of Escherichia coli

A convenient and reliable method has been established that allows a quantitative determination of m-diamino[3H]pimelic acid-labelled murein precursors in 1 ml culture samples of Escherichia coli. Prior to separation by reversed-phase high-pressure liquid chromatography the lipid-linked intermediates were hydrolysed to release the muropeptides. The accuracy for the measurement of UDP-N-acetylmuramylpentapeptide (UDP-MurNAc-pentapeptide) was +/- 1.9% (SD), for undecaprenyl-P-P-MurNAc-pentapeptide (lipid I) +/- 10% (SD) and for undecaprenyl-P-P-(GlcNAc-beta 1----4)MurNAc-pentapeptide (lipid II) +/- 5% (SD). The ratio of UDP-MurNAc-pentapeptide:lipid I:lipid II was about 300:1:3 for E. coli MC4100. The relative cellular concentrations of all three precursor molecules were found not to vary throughout the cell cycle. It is concluded that elongation and division of the murein sacculus is not controlled by oscillations in the concentrations of these late murein precursors.     

Recycling of murein by Escherichia coli.

The tripeptide (L-Ala-D-Glu-meso-diaminopimelic acid [A2pm]), tetrapeptide (L-Ala-D-Glu-A2pm-D-Ala), and dipeptide (A2pm-D-Ala) which are shed by Escherichia coli from the murein sacculus were found to be reused by the cells to synthesize murein. The tripeptide was used directly, without degradation, to form UDP-N-acetylmuramyl-L-Ala-D-Glu-A2pm. The tetrapeptide lost its carboxy-terminal D-Ala, apparently in the periplasm, before being used. The dipeptide was degraded to D-Ala and A2pm before uptake.     

Analysis of murein and murein precursors during antibiotic-induced lysis of Escherichia coli.

Lysis of Escherichia coli induced by either D-cycloserine, moenomycin, or penicillin G was monitored by studying murein metabolism. The levels of the soluble murein precursor UDP-N-acetylmuramyl-L-alanyl-D-glutamyl-m-diaminopimelyl-D-alanyl- D-alanine (UDP-MurNAc-pentapeptide) and the carrier-linked MurNAc-(pentapeptide)-pyrophosphoryl-undecaprenol as well as N-acetylglucosamine-beta-1,4-MurNAc-(pentapeptide)-pyrophosphoryl- undecaprenol varied in a specific way. In the presence of penicillin, which is known to interfere with the cross-linking of murein, the concentration of the lipid-linked precursors unexpectedly decreased before the onset of lysis, although the level of UDP-MurNAc-pentapeptide remained normal. In the case of moenomycin, which specifically blocks the formation of the murein polysaccharide strands, the lipid-linked precursors as well as UDP-MurNAc-pentapeptide accumulated as was expected. D-Cycloserine, which inhibits the biosynthesis of UDP-MurNAc-pentapeptide, consequently caused a decrease in all three precursors. The muropeptide composition of the murein showed general changes such as an increase in the unusual DL-cross bridge between two neighboring meso-diaminopimelic acid residues and, as a result of uncontrolled DL- and DD-carboxypeptidase activity, an increase in tripeptidyl and a decrease in tetrapeptidyl and pentapeptidyl moieties. The average length of the glycan strands decreased. When the glycan strands were fractionated according to length, a dramatic increase in the amount of single disaccharide units was observed not only in the presence of penicillin but also in the presence of moenomycin. This result is explained by the action of an exo-muramidase, such as the lytic transglycosylases present in E. coli. It is proposed that antibiotic-induced bacteriolysis is the result of a zipperlike splitting of the murein net by exo-muramidases locally restricted to the equatorial zone of the cell.     

In vivo and in vitro action of new antibiotics interfering with the utilization of N-acetyl-glucosamine-N-acetyl-muramyl-pentapeptide

Recent literature on the antibiotics enduracidin, moenomycin, prasinomycin, and 11.837 RP suggested an interaction with murein synthesis. Incubation of sensitive strains from Bacillus cereus and Staphylococcus aureus in a "wall medium" containing labeled l-alanine showed that all four antibiotics inhibited the incorporation of alanine into murein and gave rise to accumulation of radioactive uridine diphosphate-N-acetyl-muramyl (UDP-MurNAc)-pentapeptide. Peptidoglycan was synthesized when the particulate enzyme of B. stearothermophilus was incubated with the murein precursors UDP-N-acetyl-glucosamine (UDP-GlcNAc) and UDP-MurNAc-pentapeptide. The newly formed polymer was less accessible for lysozyme and more strongly bound to the acceptor than the same product from the Escherichia coli particulate enzyme. After incubation in the presence of penicillin, a greater part of the peptidoglycan was lysozyme sensitive and more loosely bound to the acceptor. The antibiotics enduracidin, moenomycin, prasinomycin, and 11.837 RP inhibited peptidoglycan synthesis by the B. stearothermophilus particulate enzyme. The rate of synthesis of GlcNAc-MurNAc(-pentapeptide)-P-P-phospholipid was independent from the addition of these antibiotics, but its utilization was strongly inhibited. With the present results, it is not possible to distinguish the mechanisms of action of enduracidin, moenomycin, prasinomycin, and 11.837 RP from the mechanisms of action of vancomycin and ristocetin.     

Uptake of cell wall peptides by Salmonella typhimurium and Escherichia coli.

During bacterial growth, cell wall peptides are released from the murein and reused for the synthesis of new cell wall material. Mutants defective in peptide transport were unable to reutilize cell wall peptides, demonstrating that these peptides are taken up intact into the cytoplasm prior to reincorporation into murein. Furthermore, cell wall peptide recycling was shown to play an important physiological role; peptide transport mutants which were unable to recycle these peptides showed growth defects under appropriate conditions. Using mutants specifically defective in each of the three peptide transport systems, we showed that the uptake of cell wall peptides was mediated solely by the oligopeptide permease (Opp) and that neither the dipeptide permease (Dpp) nor the tripeptide permease (Tpp) played a significant role in this process. Our data indicate that the periplasmic oligopeptide-binding protein has more than one substrate-binding site, each with different though overlapping specificities.     

Role of precursor translocation in coordination of murein and phospholipid synthesis in Escherichia coli.

Inhibition of phospholipid synthesis in Escherichia coli by either cerulenin treatment or glycerol starvation of a glycerol-auxotrophic mutant resulted in a concomitant block of murein synthesis. The intracellular pool of cytoplasmic and lipid-linked murein precursors was not affected by an inhibition of phospholipid synthesis, nor was the activity of the penicillin-binding proteins. In addition, a decrease in the activity of the two lipoprotein murein hydrolases, the lytic transglycosylases A and B, could not be demonstrated. The indirect inhibition of murein synthesis by cerulenin resulted in a 68% decrease of trimeric muropeptide structures, proposed to represent the attachment points of newly added murein. Importantly, inhibition of phospholipid synthesis also inhibited O-antigen synthesis with a sensitivity and kinetics similar to those of murein synthesis. It is concluded that the step common for murein and O-antigen synthesis, the translocation of the respective bactoprenolphosphate-linked precursor molecules, is affected by an inhibition of phospholipid synthesis. Consistent with this assumption, it was shown that murein synthesis no longer depends on ongoing phospholipid synthesis in ether-permeabilized cells. We propose that the assembly of a murein-synthesizing machinery, a multienzyme complex consisting of murein hydrolases and synthases, at specific sites of the membrane, where integral membrane proteins such as RodA and FtsW facilitate the translocation of the lipid-linked murein precursors to the periplasm, depends on ongoing phospholipid synthesis. This would explain the well-known phenomenon that both murein synthesis and antibiotic-induced autolysis depend on phospholipid synthesis and thereby indirectly on the stringent control.     

A defect in cell wall recycling triggers autolysis during the stationary growth phase of Escherichia coli.

The first gene of a family of prokaryotic proteases with a specificity for L,D-configured peptide bonds has been identified in Escherichia coli. The gene named ldcA encodes a cytoplasmic L, D-carboxypeptidase, which releases the terminal D-alanine from L-alanyl-D-glutamyl-meso-diaminopimelyl-D-alanine containing turnover products of the cell wall polymer murein. This reaction turned out to be essential for survival, since disruption of the gene results in bacteriolysis during the stationary growth phase. Owing to a defect in muropeptide recycling the unusual murein precursor uridine 5'-pyrophosphoryl N-acetylmuramyl-tetrapeptide accumulates in the mutant. The dramatic decrease observed in overall cross-linkage of the murein is explained by the increased incorporation of tetrapeptide precursors. They can only function as acceptors and not as donors in the crucial cross-linking reaction. It is concluded that murein recycling is a promising target for novel antibacterial agents.     

Enzymology of elongation and constriction of the murein sacculus of Escherichia coli

Multiple deletions in murein hydrolases revealed that predominantly amidases are responsible for cleavage of the septum during cell division. Endopeptidases and lytic transglycosylases seem also be involved. In the absence of these enzymes E. coli grows normally but forms chains of adhering cells. Surprisingly, mutants lacking up to eight different murein hydrolases still grow with almost unaffected growth rate. Therefore it is speculated that general enlargement of the murein sacculus may differ from cell division by using transferases rather than the two sets of hydrolytic and synthetic enzymes as seems to be the case for the constriction process. A model is presented that describes growth of the murein of both Gram-positive and -negative bacteria by the activity of murein transferases. It is speculated that enzymes exist that catalyze a transpeptidation of the pre-existing murein onto murein precursors or nascent murein by using the chemical energy present in peptide cross-bridges. Such enzymes would at the same time cleave bonds in the murein net and insert new material into the growing sacculus.     

Murein (peptidoglycan) structure, architecture and biosynthesis in Escherichia coli

The periplasmic murein (peptidoglycan) sacculus is a giant macromolecule made of glycan strands cross-linked by short peptides completely surrounding the cytoplasmic membrane to protect the cell from lysis due to its internal osmotic pressure. More than 50 different muropeptides are released from the sacculus by treatment with a muramidase. Escherichia coli has six murein synthases which enlarge the sacculus by transglycosylation and transpeptidation of lipid II precursor. A set of twelve periplasmic murein hydrolases (autolysins) release murein fragments during cell growth and division. Recent data on the in vitro murein synthesis activities of the murein synthases and on the interactions between murein synthases, hydrolases and cell cycle related proteins are being summarized. There are different models for the architecture of murein and for the incorporation of new precursor into the sacculus. We present a model in which morphogenesis of the rod-shaped E. coli is driven by cytoskeleton elements competing for the control over the murein synthesis multi-enzyme complexes.     

The N-acetyl-D-glucosamine kinase of Escherichia coli and its role in murein recycling

N-acetyl-D-glucosamine (GlcNAc) is a major component of bacterial cell wall murein and the lipopolysaccharide of the outer membrane. During growth, over 60% of the murein of the side wall is degraded, and the major products, GlcNAc-anhydro-N-acetylmuramyl peptides, are efficiently imported into the cytoplasm and cleaved to release GlcNAc, anhydro-N-acetylmuramic acid, murein tripeptide (L-Ala-D-Glu-meso-diaminopimelic acid), and D-alanine. Like murein tripeptide, GlcNAc is readily recycled, and this process was thought to involve phosphorylation, since GlcNAc-6-phosphate (GlcNAc-6-P) is efficiently used to synthesize murein or lipopolysaccharide or can be metabolized by glycolysis. Since the gene for GlcNAc kinase had not been identified, in this work we purified GlcNAc kinase (NagK) from Escherichia coli cell extracts and identified the gene by determining the N-terminal sequence of the purified kinase. A nagK deletion mutant lacked phosphorylated GlcNAc in its cytoplasm, and the cell extract of the mutant did not phosphorylate GlcNAc, indicating that NagK is the only GlcNAc kinase expressed in E. coli. Unexpectedly, GlcNAc did not accumulate in a nagK nagEBACD mutant, though both GlcNAc and GlcNAc-6-P accumulate in the nagEBACD mutant, suggesting the existence of an alternative pathway (presumably repressed by GlcNAc-6-P) that reutilizes GlcNAc without the involvement of NagK.     

Murein (peptidoglycan) structure, architecture and biosynthesis in Escherichia coli

The periplasmic murein (peptidoglycan) sacculus is a giant macromolecule made of glycan strands cross-linked by short peptides completely surrounding the cytoplasmic membrane to protect the cell from lysis due to its internal osmotic pressure. More than 50 different muropeptides are released from the sacculus by treatment with a muramidase. Escherichia coli has six murein synthases which enlarge the sacculus by transglycosylation and transpeptidation of lipid II precursor. A set of twelve periplasmic murein hydrolases (autolysins) release murein fragments during cell growth and division. Recent data on the in vitro murein synthesis activities of the murein synthases and on the interactions between murein synthases, hydrolases and cell cycle related proteins are being summarized. There are different models for the architecture of murein and for the incorporation of new precursor into the sacculus. We present a model in which morphogenesis of the rod-shaped E. coli is driven by cytoskeleton elements competing for the control over the murein synthesis multi-enzyme complexes.     

Constitutive septal murein synthesis in Escherichia coli with impaired activity of the morphogenetic proteins RodA and penicillin-binding protein 2.

The pattern of peptidoglycan (murein) segregation in cells of Escherichia coli with impaired activity of the morphogenetic proteins penicillin-binding protein 2 and RodA has been investigated by the D-cysteine-biotin immunolabeling technique (M. A. de Pedro, J. C. Quintela, J.-V. H?ltje, and H. Schwarz, J. Bacteriol. 179:2823-2834, 1997). Inactivation of these proteins either by amdinocillin treatment or by mutations in the corresponding genes, pbpA and rodA, respectively, leads to the generation of round, osmotically stable cells. In normal rod-shaped cells, new murein precursors are incorporated all over the lateral wall in a diffuse manner, being mixed up homogeneously with preexisting material, except during septation, when strictly localized murein synthesis occurs. In contrast, in rounded cells, incorporation of new precursors is apparently a zonal process, localized at positions at which division had previously taken place. Consequently, there is no mixing of new and old murein. Old murein is preserved for long periods of time in large, well-defined areas. We propose that the observed patterns are the result of a failure to switch off septal murein synthesis at the end of septation events. Furthermore, the segregation results confirm that round cells of rodA mutants do divide in alternate, perpendicular planes as previously proposed (K. J. Begg and W. D. Donachie, J. Bacteriol. 180:2564-2567, 1998).     

Murein Synthesis and Identification of Cell Wall Precursors of Temperature-Sensitive Lysis Mutants of Escherichia coli

A group of temperature-sensitive lysis mutants of Escherichia coli K-12 was studied. Mutants impaired in the synthesis of uridine diphosphate-N-acetylmuramyl (UDP-MurNAc)-pentapeptide or in the synthesis of murein amino acids were found. Their rate of murein synthesis at the restrictive temperature was decreased. A large number of mutants did not differ from the parent strain with respect to the rate of murein synthesis and the precursor pattern. The behavior of these mutants is discussed. It was impossible to accumulate UDP-MurNAc-pentapeptide in E. coli by the antibiotics penicillin and vancomycin. The hypothesis is put forward that the amount of this murein precursor is regulated by feedback inhibition.     

Post-translational processing of the porcine gastrin precursor by phosphorylation of the COOH-terminal fragment

The gene sequence encoding porcine preprogastrin is known; in order to clarify pathways of post-translational processing of the predicted precursor peptide we have characterized material reacting with antibodies to a synthetic peptide corresponding to the expected extreme COOH-terminal portion of the precursor. Radioimmunoassay was used to identify and monitor the purification of peptides in porcine antral mucosa. Two peptides (I and II) were isolated to homogeneity by steps involving gel filtration, ion exchange, and reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography. The two co-eluted on gel filtration but were separated on anion-exchange chromatography. The more acidic peptide (II) was less hydrophobic on high performance liquid chromatography. Automated gas-phase microsequencing revealed the less acidic peptide (I) to have the sequence of porcine preprogastrin 96-104 (SAEEGDQRP); it would be produced by tryptic-like cleavage of Arg95-Ser96. The second peptide did not yield a phenylthiohydantoin-derivative on the first cycle but thereafter it sequenced as the first peptide (i.e. -AEEGDQRP). Incubation in alkali liberated almost equimolar amounts of phosphate from peptide II but not from I. In addition, alkaline phosphatase liberated phosphate and converted the acidic peptide to the less acidic one. The results suggest that serine in the first position is phosphorylated in peptide II but not I. The tripeptide -Ser(P)-Ala-Glu- also occurs in adrenocorticotropic hormone; this tripeptide is a substrate for physiological casein kinase. Potential phosphorylation sites occur at comparable positions in the precursors of a number of regulatory peptides.     

Identification of a dedicated recycling pathway for anhydro-N-acetylmuramic acid and N-acetylglucosamine derived from Escherichia coli cell wall murein

Turnover and recycling of the cell wall murein represent a major metabolic pathway of Escherichia coli. It is known that E. coli efficiently reuses, i.e., recycles, its murein tripeptide, L-alanyl-gamma-D-glutamyl-meso-diaminopimelate, to form new murein. However, the question of whether the cells also recycle the amino sugar moieties of cell wall murein has remained unanswered. It is demonstrated here that E. coli recycles the N-acetylglucosamine present in cell wall murein degradation products for de novo murein and lipopolysaccharide synthesis. Furthermore, E. coli also recycles the anhydro-N-acetylmuramic acid moiety by first converting it into N-acetylglucosamine. Based on the results obtained by studying mutants unable to recycle amino sugars, the pathway for recycling is revealed.     

Murein biosynthesis in ether permeabilized Escherichia coli starting from early peptidoglycan precursors

ETB, ether treated bacteria, from E. coli and other Gram-negative strains, contain in a cell-free system all enzymes necessary for murein biosynthesis. Starting with a variety of combinations of peptidoglycan precursors, high yields of sodium dodecylsulfate (SDS, 4%) insoluble murein or murein like material were synthesized. The amount of newly synthesized SDS insoluble material (NSM) was dependent upon the growing phase at which cells had been harvested for preparation of ETB. This data may provide some insight into the regulation of peptidoglycan biosynthesis.Starting from early peptidoglycan precursors, the cell-free synthesis of NSM was inhibited by specific inhibitors of murein synthesis, such as D-cycloserine, D-fluoroalanine, 2-amino-ethylphosphonate, analogues of D-alanyl-D-alanine and -lactam antibiotics at appropriate concentrations. Some D-alanyl-D-alanine analogues and 4-chlorodiaminopimelic acid were incorporated into NSM in place of their corresponding natural substrates.Abbreviations ETB ether treated bacteria (E. coli) - NSM newly synthesized SDS insoluble material - SDS sodium dodecylsulfate - UDP-MAG UDP-MurNAc-dipeptide, UDP-N-acetylmuramoyl-L-alanyl-D-glutamate - UDP-MAGD UDP-MurNAc-tripeptide, UDP-N-acetylmuramoyl-L-alanyl-D-glutamyl-meso-2,6-diaminopimelate - UDP-MAGDAA UDP-MurNAc-pentapeptide, UDP-N-acetylmuramoyl-L-alanyl-D-glutamyl-meso-2,6-diaminopimeloyl-D-alanyl-D-alanine - GINAc N-Acetylglucosamine Definitions Murein highly cross-linked bagshaped peptidoglycan (Weidel and Pelzer 1964)     

Membrane intermediates in the peptidoglycan metabolism of Escherichia coli: possible roles of PBP 1b and PBP 3.

The two membrane precursors (pentapeptide lipids I and II) of peptidoglycan are present in Escherichia coli at cell copy numbers no higher than 700 and 2,000 respectively. Conditions were determined for an optimal accumulation of pentapeptide lipid II from UDP-MurNAc-pentapeptide in a cell-free system and for its isolation and purification. When UDP-MurNAc-tripeptide was used in the accumulation reaction, tripeptide lipid II was formed, and it was isolated and purified. Both lipids II were compared as substrates in the in vitro polymerization by transglycosylation assayed with PBP 1b or PBP 3. With PBP 1b, tripeptide lipid II was used as efficiently as pentapeptide lipid II. It should be stressed that the in vitro PBP 1b activity accounts for at best to 2 to 3% of the in vivo synthesis. With PBP 3, no polymerization was observed with either substrate. Furthermore, tripeptide lipid II was detected in D-cycloserine-treated cells, and its possible in vivo use in peptidoglycan formation is discussed. In particular, it is speculated that the transglycosylase activity of PBP 1b could be coupled with the transpeptidase activity of PBP 3, using mainly tripeptide lipid II as precursor.     

Changes in the composition of Escherichia coli murein as it ages during exponential growth

Escherichia coli murein was specifically labeled with [14C]diaminopimelic acid in the mutant strains W7 (dap lysA) and BUG6. Pulse-labeled heat-denatured E. coli cells were digested with 2 mg of egg-white lysozyme per ml to degrade the murein completely and free any lipoprotein-bound muropeptide trimers, dimers, and monomers. Pulse-chase experiments showed that the relative percentage of trimers and dimers found in the newly synthesized murein increased somewhat with time at the expense of monomers. The increase in cross-links indicated that the radioactive monomers served as acceptors in multisite transpeptidations occurring after the labeling period. The content of nonreducing monomers (C7 and C8) remained unaltered, indicating that the oligosaccharide chain length did not change with time. A gradual conversion of the reducing disaccharide tetrapeptide monomer to its tripeptide analog occurred during chasing. Braun lipoprotein was linked to about 2% of the murein subunits within 30 s of the incorporation of subunits into insoluble murein, and after one-half a generation of chase, lipoprotein-associated muropeptides had approached the maximum (16% of the total murein subunits). The distribution of muropeptides was similar in lipoprotein-linked and lipoprotein-free murein, showing that the enzyme that links Braun lipoprotein to murein does not discriminate between monomers, dimers, and trimers. No evidence for a chasable, soluble polymer of murein was found in our experiments. Hence, our data support the idea that new murein is incorporated directly into the sacculus without first existing as a soluble intermediate.     

MppA,a Periplasmic Binding Protein Essential for Import of the Bacterial Cell Wall Peptide l-Alanyl-γ-d-Glutamyl-meso-Diaminopimelate

Mutants of a diaminopimelic acid (Dap)-requiring strain of Escherichia coli were isolated which failed to grow on media in which Dap was replaced by the cell wall murein tripeptide, l-alanyl-γ-d-glutamyl-meso-diaminopimelate. In one such mutant, which is oligopeptide permease (Opp) positive, we have identified a new gene product, designated MppA (murein peptide permease A), that is about 46% identical to OppA, the periplasmic binding protein for Opp. A plasmid carrying the wild-type mppA gene allows the mutant to grow on tripeptide. Two other mutants that failed to grow on tripeptide were resistant to triornithine toxicity, indicating a defect in the opp operon. An E. coli strain whose entire opp operon was deleted but which carried the mppA locus was unable to grow on murein tripeptide unless it was provided with oppBCDF genes in trans. Our data suggest a model whereby the periplasmic MppA binds the murein tripeptide, which is then transported into the cytoplasm via membrane-bound and cytoplasmic OppBCDF. In assessing the affinity of MppA for non-cell wall peptides, we have found that proline auxotrophy can be satisfied with the peptide Pro-Phe-Lys, which utilizes either MppA or OppA in conjunction with OppBCDF for its uptake. Thus, MppA, OppA, and perhaps the third OppA paralog revealed by the E. coli genome sequence may each bind a particular family of peptides but interact with common membrane-associated components for transport of their bound ligands into the cell. As to the physiological function of MppA, the possibility that it may be involved in signal transduction pathway(s) is discussed.During growth, Escherichia coli breaks down over one-third of its cell wall each generation and efficiently reutilizes the tripeptide therefrom for synthesis of new murein in a sequence of events termed the recycling pathway (9, 11, 32; see reference 33 for a review). In this pathway, murein is degraded to N-acetylglucosaminyl-1,6-anhydro-N-acetylmuramyl-l-alanyl- γ-d-glutamyl-meso-diaminopimelate (GlcNAc-anhMurNAc-tripeptide) by the combined action of lytic transglycosylases, endopeptidases, and d,d- and l,d-carboxypeptidases which are present in the periplasm (39). The muropeptide, GlcNAc- anhMurNAc-tripeptide, presumably is transported into the cytoplasm via the membrane-bound AmpG permease (20, 24). The tripeptide is then released from the muropeptide by AmpD anhydro-N-acetylmuramyl-l-alanine amidase (19, 21). Surprisingly, almost all murein tripeptide for recycling is transported into the cell as GlcNAc-anhMurNAc-tripeptide via the AmpG permease and is then released by the cytoplasmic AmpD amidase (20, 32), rather than being transported as the free tripeptide via the oligopeptide permease (Opp) as was originally proposed (10). Direct utilization of the tripeptide for cell wall synthesis was assumed to depend on a hypothetical ligase which would attach tripeptide to UDP-MurNAc, thereby reintroducing it into the biosynthetic pathway for wall synthesis (9, 20, 33). In fact, the enzyme responsible for this activity has recently been identified, and the gene, mpl, was shown to be the open reading frame (ORF) yifG at 96 min on the E. coli map (29). An mpl null mutant was completely devoid of ligase activity, and cells of this mutant were viable and accumulated tripeptide in their cytoplasm (29).During a search for mutants lacking this murein peptide ligase activity, four mutants were isolated from a pool of mutagenized diaminopimelic acid (Dap)-negative (dap) parental cells in a screen that assayed the growth of cells on free tripeptide as a source of Dap. In this report, we describe the isolation and initial characterization of one such mutant. A new genetic locus, mppA, has been identified which codes for a periplasmic binding protein required for uptake of murein peptides. Two other mutants, one with a mutation in oppB and the other with a mutation in groESL (unpublished), were found to be defective in Opp function because of their resistance to triornithine toxicity. The oppB mutation indicates that murein tripeptide is transported from MppA into the cytoplasm via membrane components of Opp, and the groE mutation suggests that the chaperonin is involved in the proper folding and assembly of the components of the peptide transport system.