Part of respiratory nitrate reductase of Klebsiella aerogenes is intimately associated with the peptidoglycan.

Lysozyme digestion and sonication of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)-purified Klebsiella aerogenes murein sacculi resulted in the quantitative release of both subunits of nitrate reductase, as well as a number of other cytoplasmic membrane polypeptides (5.2%, by weight, of the total membrane proteins). Similar results were obtained after lysozyme digestion of SDS-prepared peptidoglycan fragments, which excluded the phenomenon of simple trapping of the polypeptides by the surrounding peptidoglycan matrix. About 28% of membrane-bound nitrate reductase appears to be tightly associated with the peptidoglycan. Additional evidence for this association was demonstrated by positive immunogold labeling of SDS-murein sacculi and thin sections of plasmolyzed bacteria. Qualitative amino acid analysis of trypsin-treated sacculi, a tryptic product of holo-nitrate reductase, and amino- and carboxypeptidase digests of both nitrate reductase subunits indicated the possible existence of a terminal anchoring peptide containing the following amino acids: (Gly)n, Trp, Ser, Pro, Ile, Leu, Phe, Cys, Tyr, Asp, and Lys.