Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A polymer found in the cell walls of prokaryotes that consists of polysaccharide and peptide chains in a strong molecular network.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun biochemistry A polymer of glycan and peptides found in bacterial cell walls

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[peptide + glycan, a polysaccharide.]

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Examples

  • Cluster III genes, which are positively regulated by CbfA-CTD, are enriched in GO terms representing functions that support bacterial food uptake and degradation, such as peptidoglycan degradation (e.g., lysozyme activity) and proteolysis.

    PLoS ONE Alerts: New Articles 2009

  • In the discussion, the authors present additional evidence that supports their finding, including, but not limited to: (a) the inability to detect cytochromes within the methanogens; (b) the fact that the cell walls of methanogens do not contain peptidoglycan; (c) the 23S rRNA sequence is also divergent from typical bacteria.

    Archive 2008-07-01 microbiologist xx 2008

  • In the discussion, the authors present additional evidence that supports their finding, including, but not limited to: (a) the inability to detect cytochromes within the methanogens; (b) the fact that the cell walls of methanogens do not contain peptidoglycan; (c) the 23S rRNA sequence is also divergent from typical bacteria.

    Carl Woese Changed the Tree of Life (The Giant's Shoulders carnival) microbiologist xx 2008

  • They work by inhibiting cross-linkage between the linear peptidoglycan polymer chains that make up blocks of the cell wall.

    Ann Coulter: No evidence for evolution? - The Panda's Thumb 2006

  • Normal flagella need a P-ring to span the cell wall made of peptidoglycan and an L-ring to span the outer membrane.

    Friday flagellum blogging -- spirochete flagella - The Panda's Thumb 2006

  • Abbreviations: OM = outer membrane, IM = inner membrane, PG = peptidoglycan cell wall

    Friday flagellum blogging -- spirochete flagella - The Panda's Thumb 2006

  • For many species of bacteria, the thick peptidoglycan layer present in gram-positive cell walls is considered a potential barrier to DNA uptake.

    1 Upgrading Traditional Biotechnological Processes 1992

  • The constitutive SrtA catalyzes the covalent binding of the minor ancillary AP2 to peptidoglycan and since its inactivation leads to pilus secretion

    PLoS ONE Alerts: New Articles Cira Daniela Rinaudo et al. 2010

  • The constitutive SrtA catalyzes the covalent binding of the minor ancillary AP2 to peptidoglycan and since its inactivation leads to pilus secretion

    PLoS ONE Alerts: New Articles Cira Daniela Rinaudo et al. 2010

  • A second series of modifications enhances the secretion process, by genetically deleting or modifying two key layers of the cellular envelope-known as the S and peptidoglycan layers-allowing fatty acids to more easily escape outside the cell, where their low water solubility causes them to precipitate out of solution, forming a whitish residue on the surface.

    Analysis 2010

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