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Peptidoglycan

In prokaryotic cells, peptidoglycan (also called murein) forms a homogeneous layer just outside the plasma membrane. This gives bacteria shape and strength and counteracts the cytoplasm's osmotic pressure. In addition, it is involved in the binary fission of a bacterial cell to produce two daughter cells. Penicillin and similar antibacterial drugs interfere in the formation of the protective peptidoglycan layer in bacteria, especially targeting the enzyme transpeptidase.

Peptidoglycan is significantly thicker in Gram-positive bacteria as opposed to Gram-negative bacteria; laboratories testing for Gram-positive bacteria often test for peptidoglycan.

In its essence, peptidoglycan is a lattice structure formed from two alternating amino sugars, N-acetyl glucosamine and N-acetyl muramic acid. Crosslinks between these amino acids using an enzyme called transpeptidase results in a three-dimensional layer with strength and rigidity.

Each bacterial species has a somewhat different peptidoglycan.

Web Resources On Peptidoglycan

Peptidoglycan (PGN) - a Biopolymer
Antibiotics: Antibacterial Agents

Book Resources On Peptidoglycan

Biological Properties of Peptidoglycan by Seidl & Schleifer (Editors)
The Target of Penicillin: The Murein Sacculus of Bacterial Cell Walls by by R. Hakenbeck (Editor)

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