Identification of an isolated protein essential for peptidoglycan synthesis as the N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase.

We have identified a protein extractable from Bacillus megaterium membranes by LiCl as the enzyme in peptidoglycan synthesis which catalyzes the transfer of N-acetylglucosamine from UDP-N-acetylglucosamine to N-acetyl-D-muramyl-L-analyl-D-gamma-glutamyl-meso-diaminopimelyl-D-alanyl-D-alanine-P-P-lipid. This identification demonstrates the isolation and characterization of a membrane-associated enzyme involved in a complex series of reactions without the ready availability of a substrate for the enzyme.