The molecular structure of bacterial walls. The size of ribitol teichoic acids and the nature of their linkage to glycosaminopeptides

1. Ribitol teichoic acids prepared by fractional precipitation of trichloroacetic acid extracts of bacterial cell walls are essentially undegraded and have similar chain length to the teichoic acid originally present in the walls. 2. The chain length of teichoic acid can be determined directly, without prior extraction from the wall. Accurate values have been obtained by measurement of the formaldehyde produced by oxidation of walls with periodate. Less accurate values have been derived from the amount of inorganic phosphate formed by heating walls at pH4. 3. The relative amounts of N-acetylglucosaminylribitol and its mono- and di-phosphates produced by heating walls of Staphylococcus aureus with alkali agree with the amounts calculated for the hydrolysis of teichoic acid having the chain length determined by other methods. 4. Chemical considerations indicate that the linkage between teichoic acid and the wall may involve a phosphoramidate bond between the terminal phosphate of the teichoic acid and one of the amino groups in the glycosaminopeptide.