Quantitative chemical composition of peptidoglycan of Listeria monocytogenes.

The qualitative and quantitative chemical composition of the peptidoglycan layer of Listeria monocytogenes cell walls was determined. The peptidoglycan layer was isolated from intact cells after treatment with sodium lauryl sulfate and digestion with Pronase. The isolated peptidoglycan contained carbohydrates which included hexose, rhamnose, and amino sugars. The amino sugar was identified as glucosamine which was present in very high micromole concentration, as compared with the amino acids, muramic acid, or diaminopimelic acid. In addition, protein and phosphorus were also present. However, the presence of teichoic acid was not detected in the peptidoglycan. Protein moiety contained a total of 18 amino acids with lysine as the N-terminal amino acid.