Department of Bioengineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
Mol Microbiol. 2013 Jul;89(1):1-13. doi: 10.1111/mmi.12266. Epub 2013 Jun 3.
The peptidoglycan (PG) cell wall is a unique macromolecule responsible for both shape determination and cellular integrity under osmotic stress in virtually all bacteria. A quantitative understanding of the relationships between PG architecture, morphogenesis, immune system activation and pathogenesis can provide molecular-scale insights into the function of proteins involved in cell wall synthesis and cell growth. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) has played an important role in our understanding of the structural and chemical complexity of the cell wall by providing an analytical method to quantify differences in chemical composition. Here, we present a primer on the basic chemical features of wall structure that can be revealed through HPLC, along with a description of the applications of HPLC PG analyses for interpreting the effects of genetic and chemical perturbations to a variety of bacterial species in different environments. We describe the physical consequences of different PG compositions on cell shape, and review complementary experimental and computational methodologies for PG analysis. Finally, we present a partial list of future targets of development for HPLC and related techniques.
肽聚糖（PG）细胞壁是一种独特的大分子，几乎所有细菌都依赖它来确定形状并在渗透压胁迫下保持细胞完整性。定量理解 PG 结构、形态发生、免疫系统激活和发病机制之间的关系，可以为参与细胞壁合成和细胞生长的蛋白质的功能提供分子尺度的见解。高效液相色谱（HPLC）通过提供一种分析方法来量化化学成分差异，在我们对细胞壁结构的结构和化学复杂性的理解中发挥了重要作用。在这里，我们介绍了通过 HPLC 揭示细胞壁结构基本化学特征的入门知识，以及描述了 HPLC PG 分析在解释遗传和化学干扰对不同环境中各种细菌的影响方面的应用。我们描述了不同 PG 成分对细胞形状的物理影响，并回顾了用于 PG 分析的补充实验和计算方法。最后，我们列出了 HPLC 和相关技术的一些未来发展目标。
