Cell Wall Biochemistry Research Articles

Book reviews

Letters in Applied MicrobiologyVolume 11, Issue 1 p. 52-54 Book reviews First published: July 1990 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1472-765X.1990.tb00135.xAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat Abstract Book reviewed in this article: Biochemistry The Chemistry of Life (1989). By David Plummer. Progress in Immunology VII (1989). Edited by F. Melchers and 17 Associate Editors. Biochemistry of Cell Walls and Membranes in Fungi (1989). Edited by P.J. Kuhn, A.P.J. Trinci, M.J. Jung, M.W. Goosey & L.G. Copping. bacterialImmunoglobulin-BindingProteinsVolume1 (1989). Edited by Michael D.P. Boyle. Biotechnology Handbooks 2: Bacillus (1989). Edited by C.R. Harwood. Volume11, Issue1July 1990Pages 52-54 RelatedInformation

A xylosyltransferase involved in the synthesis of a protein-associated xyloglucan in suspension-cultured dwarf-French-bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) cells and its interaction with a glucosyltransferase

A particulate enzyme preparation made from suspension-cultured dwarf-French-bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) cv. Canadian Wonder cells was shown to incorporate xylose from UDP-D-[14C]xylose into polysaccharide. The reaction was dependent upon the presence of UDP-D-glucose and was stimulated, and apparently protected, by GDP-D-glucose and GDP-D-mannose, though neither was able to replace UDP-D-glucose as a glycosyl donor. The product of the reaction was identified as xyloglucan by analysis of products of enzyme breakdown and acid hydrolysis. Mr determination after proteinase K digestion indicated that the nascent xyloglucan is closely associated with protein. Preincubation of the enzyme with UDP-D-glucose stimulated incorporation from UDP-D-[14C]xylose, suggesting an 'imprecise' mechanism of biosynthesis, as defined by Waldron & Brett [(1985) in Biochemistry of Plant Cell Walls (Brett, C. T. & Hillman, J. R., eds.) (SEB Semin. Ser. 28), pp. 79-97, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge].

Book Review

Books reviewed in this article: BIOCHEMISTRY OF PLANT CELL WALLS. Edited by C. T. Brett & J. R. Hillman

Reviews.

Book reviewed in this article: A Manual on Methods for the Assessment of Secondary Productivity in Fresh Waters. IBP Handbook 17. Ed. By John A. Dowining and Frank H. Rigler. Biochemistry of Plant Cell Walls. Ed. By C. T. Brett and J. R. Hillman. Gene Structure and Expression. By J. D. Hawkins. A Dictionary of Genetic Engineering. By S. G. Oliver and J. M. Ward.

The Leeuwenhoek lecture, 1967. Teichoic acids and the molecular structure of bacterial walls.

A glance at previous Leeuwenhoek Lectures reveals that in a number of cases the Lecturer has felt obliged to preface his account with an apology to the effect that the subject of his lecture would seem to bear little relationship to the distinguished work of Antony van Leeuwenhoek. In my case, however, such apology is unnecessary as a reasonably direct connexion can be established between those remarkable observations in the seventeenth century and the work described here. Leeuwenhoek’s description of bacteria is based on their appearance under his primitive but remarkably effective microscopes. Such appearance is, of course, governed by shape and we see from the published record that cocci, bacilli and spirochaetes were observed and accurately described in terms of size and shape. These features are functions of the nature and rigidity of the wall surrounding the organisms and so are related to molecular structure; the purpose of my lecture is to describe certain aspects of the recently acquired knowledge of the molecular architecture of bacterial cell walls. The great interest that has developed in the chemistry and biochemistry of bacterial cell walls during the last ten years or so has arisen for a number of reasons (cf. Salton 1964). In the first place, walls are of interest because they represent a substantial proportion of the metabolic products of the cell; they frequently comprise up to 20% of the dry weight of cells and so must be regarded as important metabolites. Moreover, their chemical structure is interesting in view of their physical properties. Thus, besides being reasonably rigid structures with considerable strength they are nevertheless freely permeable towards cellular products and nutrients. Under certain conditions even large molecules such as antibodies, extracellular enzymes and nucleic acids can penetrate the wall, although the full extent and nature of this permeability, and the effect of negatively charged polymers (e. g. teichoic acids) in the wall, has not been clearly defined. The wall is frequently the site of important antigenic material; for example, in many cases it has been shown, that group- or type-specific antigens are located in the outer structures of the cell, including the wall. Consequently, a better understanding of the immunological properties of bacteria, and particularly such features as patho-genicity, require a full understanding of the structure, function and biosynthesis of wall components.

Biochemistry of bacterial cell walls.

The Hippo pathway was initially discovered in Drosophila melanogaster as a key regulator of tissue growth. It is an evolutionarily conserved signaling cascade regulating numerous biological processes, including cell growth and fate decision, organ size ...Read More

細菌細胞壁の生化学

細菌細胞壁の生化学