VPB 112: General Veterinary Biochemistry (1+1)

BACTERIAL CELL WALL POLYSACCHARIDE

• The cell walls of many bacteria are made of peptidoglycans, which are heteroglycan chains linked to peptides(murein is another name for peptidoglycan).
• The heteroglycan component is composed of alternating residues of N-acetylglucosamine and N-acetylmuramic acid joined by β(1→4) linkage. N-acetylmuramic acid consists of N-acetylglucosamine in an ether link with D-lactic acid.
• Many such linear polymers lie side by side in the cell wall, cross-linked by short peptides.
• The antibacterial action of lysozyme (present in tears) is due to its ability to catalyze the hydrolysis of polysaccharide chain of peptidoglycan.