Lipoteichoic acid is the major cell wall component responsible for surface hydrophobicity of group A streptococci
Författare
Summary, in English
The contribution of lipoteichoic acid (LTA) to the hydrophobic surface properties of group A streptococci was investigated in aqueous dextran-polyethylene glycol two-phase systems. Enzymatic digestions were performed to characterize the hydrophobic surface structure. The results obtained indicated that LTA is a major factor responsible for the hydrophobic character of the cell surface of group A streptococci. This was further supported by the similarity of partition in polymer two-phase systems between whole group A streptococci and tritiated LTA extracted from a group A streptococcal strain. Surface LTA was also determined on intact organisms by a new method measuring the adsorption of antibodies to LTA to the bacterial surface. A correlation was found between the content of surface LTA and the hydrophobicity of the group A streptococci. We conclude that surface-associated LTA is the major factor determining surface hydrophobicity of group A streptococci.
Avdelning/ar
Publiceringsår
1983
Språk
Engelska
Sidor
336-343
Publikation/Tidskrift/Serie
Infection and Immunity
Volym
39
Issue
1
Länkar
Dokumenttyp
Artikel i tidskrift
Förlag
American Society for Microbiology
Ämne
- Microbiology in the medical area
Status
Published
ISBN/ISSN/Övrigt
- ISSN: 1098-5522