Teichoic acids (from the Greek. Τειχος , “wall”) are linear carbohydrate phosphate-containing heteropolymers consisting of repeating residues of polyols or glycosyl polyols linked by phosphodiester bonds. [one]
Depending on the polyols that form the main chain, glycerol, ribite, and mannittechoic acids are isolated.
They are components of the cell wall of many gram-positive bacteria . They can be covalently linked to membrane lipids and then called lipoteichoic acids .
Distribution and Structure
Teichoic acids are found only in gram-positive bacteria such as Staphylococci , Streptococci , Bacillus , Clostridium , Corynebacterium and Listeria , where they can protrude onto the surface of the peptidoglycan layer. Teichoic acids can be associated with lipids of the plasma membrane - the so-called. lipoteichoic acids - either with the final D- alanine of the tetrapeptide connecting the molecules of N- acetylmuramic acid .
Notes
- ↑ MeSH Teichoic + acids