The cell wall of Bacillus licheniformis N.C.T.C. 6346: Biosynthesis of the teichuronic acid

1. Particulate fractions prepared from disrupted cells of Bacillus licheniformis N.C.T.C. 6346 catalyse the uptake of radioactivity from UDP-[¹⁴C]glucuronic acid or UDP-N[¹⁴C]-acetylglucosamine. Maximal uptake requires the presence of both nucleotides and Mg²⁺ ions. The reaction is inhibited markedly by high concentrations of novobiocin and, to a certain extent, by vancomycin and by methicillin. 2. The radioactive product formed is resistant to Pronase and is soluble in 5% (w/v) trichloroacetic acid. It is of high molecular weight, from its behaviour on columns of Sephadex G-50 or G-200, and behaves during paper electrophoresis in n-acetic acid and chromatography on DEAE-cellulose in a manner similar to teichuronic acid. 3. Both teichuronic acid and the synthesized material are resistant to testicular hyaluronidase and to Flavobacterium heparinum heparinase. 4. The specific activity of suspensions of broken cells or of washed particulate fractions is greatest when they are prepared from exponentially growing cells. Fractions obtained from late exponential-phase or stationary-phase cells have very low activity. 5. The galactosamine content of B. licheniformis N.C.T.C. 6346 cell walls increases during the exponential phase and decreases during the stationary phase.