Extraction and Purification of Wall-Bound Polymers of Gram-Positive Bacteria.

The envelope of gram-positive bacteria encompasses the cell wall, a rigid exoskeleton comprised of peptidoglycan that provides protection against lysis and governs bacterial cell shapes. Peptidoglycan also serves as the site of attachment for proteins and nonproteinaceous polymers that interact with the bacterial environment. Nonproteinaceous molecules include teichoic acids, capsular polysaccharides, and secondary cell wall polysaccharides (SCWP). Treatment of gram-positive bacterial cells with proteases, nucleases, and detergents results in the isolation of "murein sacculi" (i.e., peptidoglycan with bound carbohydrate polymers). Incubation of sacculi with acid or base releases carbohydrate polymers that can be purified for further biochemical characterization. This protocol describes the hydrofluoric acid extraction and purification of the secondary cell wall polymer of Bacillus anthracis that is also found in the envelope of the other members of the Bacillus cereus sensu lato group of bacteria.