Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 15, 2026

Isolation of Lipoprotein Particles from Chicken Egg Yolk for the Study of Bacterial Pathogen Fatty Acid Incorporation into Membrane Phospholipids
Published on: May 15, 2019
Synthesis of glycerol phosphate lipoteichoic acid in Staphylococcus aureus
Angelika Gründling1, Olaf Schneewind
1Department of Microbiology, University of Chicago, 920 East 58th Street, Chicago, IL 60637, USA.
Abstract:
Lipoteichoic acid (LTA), a glycerol phosphate surface polymer, is a component of the envelope of Gram-positive bacteria. However, the molecular basis for its synthesis or function is not known. Here we report that Staphylococcus aureus LtaS synthesizes glycerol phosphate LTA. Construction of a mutant S. aureus strain with inducible ltaS expression revealed that LTA synthesis is required for bacterial growth and cell division. An ltaS homologue of Bacillus subtilis restored LTA synthesis and the growth of ltaS mutant staphylococci. Thus, LtaS inhibition can be used as a target to treat human infections caused by antibiotic-resistant S. aureus or other bacterial pathogens.
Related Concept Videos
Formation of Lipopolysaccharides
Biosynthesis of Lipids
Peptidoglycan Synthesis
Synthesis of Phosphatidylcholine in the ER Membrane
The major components of all eukaryotic cell...
Lipid Catabolism
Staphylococcal Skin Infections

