Novel cell-wall teichoic acid from Nocardiopsis albus subsp. albus as a species-specific marker

1 Department of Biology, Moscow State University, Moscow 119899, Russia 2 N. D. Zelinsky Institute of Organic Chemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia 3 Institute of Biochemistry and Physiology of Microorganisms, Russian Academy of Sciences, Pushchino, Moscow Region, Russia Author for correspondence: I. B. Naumova. Fax: +7 095 939 43 09. ABSTRACT Cell walls of the three Nocardiopsis albus subsp. albus strains, DSM 43377 T , 43378 and 43120 contain structurally identical teichoic acids. The cell wall of each strain has three distinct types of teichoic acids: (1) unsubstituted 3,5-poly(ribitol phosphate), (2) 1,3-poly(glycerol phosphate) partially substituted at C-2 with - N -acetylglucosamine residues, and (3) 1,5-poly(ribitol phosphate) with each ribitol unit carrying a 2,4-pyruvate ketal group. Types 1 and 3 are reported in prokaryotes for the first time. The structure of the teichoic acids was elucidated by chemical analysis and NMR-spectroscopic methods. Structural identity of the teichoic acids from the three strains belonging to the same species may demonstrate the species-specificity of these polymers. Keywords: Nocardiopsis, cell walls, teichoic acids, 3,5-poly(ribitol phosphate), pyruvic acid, NMR spectroscopy