Location of peptidoglycan and teichoic acid on the cell wall surface of Staphylococcus aureus as determined by immunoelectron microscopy.

Anti-peptidoglycan (PG) and anti-teichoic acid (TA) antibodies were prepared from sera of rabbits immunized with the cell wall fraction of Staphylococcus aureus Cowan I by the specific adsorption technique with purified teichoic acid or peptidoglycan. The anti-PG antibody recognized the trichloroacetic acid-treated walls (TCA wall) prepared from S. aureus, Bacillus subtilis, and Micrococcus luteus but did not react with teichoic acid or proteins extracted from the cell wall of Staphylococcus. The anti-TA antibody specifically reacted with cell wall teichoic acid of beta-type sugar configuration. The reaction sites of these antibodies on the cell wall of S. aureus Wood 46 were determined by immunoelectron microscopy using colloidal gold as a probe. The anti-TA antibody reacted mostly with the fibrous electron-dense mass on the cell surface. The reaction was also seen on the inner surface of the cell wall. The anti-PG antibody reacted with the fibrous structures and also directly on the cell wall surface. The distribution of the probes on the cell wall surface examined with the scanning electron microscope showed that there was no localized distribution in respect to the cell division. We knew from these observations that the external surface of the cell wall of Staphylococcus is covered with the fibrous mass which consists mostly of teichoic acid but partially of peptidoglycan.