The structure of teichoic acid from Bacillus subtilis var, niger WM as determined by C nuclear-magnetic-resonance spectroscopy.

The walls of Bacillus subtilis var. niger WM, grown in a Mg2+ -limited chemostat culture (carbon source glucose, dilution rate = 0.2 h(-1), 37 degrees C, pH 7) contained 45% (w/w) teichoic acid, a polymer composed of glycerol, phosphate[ and glucose in the molar ratio 1.00:1.00:0.88, respectively. Alkaline hydrolysis of this teichoic acid yeilded 1-O-beta-glucosylglycerol phosphate (together with small amounts of glycerol phosphate0 and 13C nuclear magnetic resonance spectra of this hydrolysis product, and its derivative after alkaline phosphate treatment, confirmed that the monomeric unit was 1-O-beta-glucosylglycerol-3-phosphate. Assignment of the resonances in the spectrum of undergraded teichoic acid revealed that the polymer was a poly [(2,3) glycerol phosphate 1, glucosidically substituted on C-1 of glycerol with beta-glucose.