The murG gene of Escherichia coli codes for the UDP-N-acetylglucosamine: N-acetylmuramyl-(pentapeptide) pyrophosphoryl-undecaprenol N-acetylglucosamine transferase involved in the membrane steps of peptidoglycan synthesis.

Physiological properties of the murG gene product of Escherichia coli were investigated. The inactivation of the murG gene rapidly inhibits peptidoglycan synthesis in exponentially growing cells. As a result, various alterations of cell shape are observed, and cell lysis finally occurs when the peptidoglycan content is 40% lower than that of normally growing cells. Analysis of the pools of peptidoglycan precursors reveals the concomitant accumulation of UDP-N-acetylglucosamine (UDP-GlcNAc) and UDP-N-acetylmuramyl-pentapeptide (UDP-MurNAc-pentapeptide) and, to a lesser extent, that of undecaprenyl-pyrophosphoryl-MurNAc-pentapeptide (lipid intermediate I), indicating that inhibition of peptidoglycan synthesis occurs after formation of the cytoplasmic precursors. The relative depletion of the second lipid intermediate, undecaprenyl-pyrophosphoryl-MurNAc-(pentapeptide)GlcNAc, shows that inactivation of the murG gene product does not prevent the formation of lipid intermediate I but inhibits the next reaction in which GlcNAc is transferred to lipid intermediate I. In vitro assays for phospho-MurNAc-pentapeptide translocase and N-acetylglucosaminyl transferase activities finally confirm the identification of the murG gene product as the transferase that catalyzes the conversion of lipid intermediate I to lipid intermediate II in the peptidoglycan synthesis pathway. Plasmids allowing for a high overproduction of the transferase and the determination of its N-terminal amino acid sequence were constructed. In cell fractionation experiments, the transferase is essentially associated with membranes when it is recovered.