Cell envelope of Neisseria gonorrhoeae: outer membrane and peptidoglycan composition of penicillin-sensitive and-resistant strains.

The cell envelope of Neisseria gonorrhoeae, colony type 4, was studied. Outer membrane was isolated by lysozyme and ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid treatment of plasmolyzed cells according to Wolf-Watz et al. (1973). The degree of purity of the membrane preparations was checked by electron microscopy. The membrane fraction obtained had a density of 1.25 g/cm(3), was rich in phospholipase A and lysophospholipase, and contained only 10% of the total membrane activity of succinate dehydrogenase and d-lactate dehydrogenase. The outer membrane protein profile after sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis revealed at least six major proteins. The predominating protein showed a molecular weight of 35,000. The lipopolysaccharide component was characterized by gas chromatography. The carbohydrates found were galactose, glucose, and glucosamine. d-Glycero-l-manno-heptose was present in very low amounts. Lipid A contained lauric acid, stearic acid, and beta-hydroxy-myristic acid. About 20% of the fatty acids in the outer membrane was derived from lipid A. The phospholipids were characterized as phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylglycerol, and diphosphatidylglycerol. There was no evidence for a lipoprotein anchored to the peptidoglycan. The peptidoglycan of N. gonorrhoeae was of the chemotype I. The cell envelope of N. gonorrhoeae was found to be highly permeable to gentian violet. Cell envelopes of one penicillin-resistant and two penicillin-sensitive strains were compared. Only moderate differences in fatty acid composition were found.