BIOC17H3 Lecture Notes - Lecture 8: Teichoic Acid, Cell Wall, Tetrapeptide

• School: UTSC
• Department: Biological Sciences
• Course: BIOC17H3
• Professor: Shelley A.Brunt

Document Summary

Summary: all bacteria but mycoplasma, acid fast and archaebacteria are gram-positive or gram- negative, gram-negative have no teichoic or lipoteichoic acid, phospholipids may not be present in gram-positive bacteria. Major polymers: murein is unique to bacteria, teichoic acid is less unique, lps is less unique and plays a role in selective toxicity, lps and polysaccharides do change, important when thinking about pathogens. Protoplasts, spheroplasts, and l-forms: can occur naturally, lysozyme use in the lab, gram-positive bacteria become protoplasts, gram-negative bacteria become spheroplasts, treat cell with edta, destabilize the outer membrane to allow lysozyme access to peptidoglycan. In buffer, remain intact no longer sensitive to antibiotics. Teichoic acids + lipoteichoic acids: second major component of gram-positive cell walls, glycerol phosphate structure (or ribitol phosphate, r groups vary (common are glucose or amino acids, immunogenic, affects adherence, antibiotics may not be able to protect.