Bactoprenol is a lipid synthesized from mevalonic acid and is the most abundant lipid found in certain species of lactobacilli.[1] Bactoprenol is found in both mesosomal and plasma membranes.[4] Mesosomal and plasma bactoprenol are synthesized independently from each other.[5]
Function
Bactoprenol is thought to play a key role in the formation of cell walls in Gram-positive bacteria by cycling peptidoglycan monomers through the plasma membrane and inserting these monomers at points of growth in the bacterial cell wall.[6]
Antibiotic significance
Because bactoprenol is so important for cell growth, numerous antibiotic compounds function by disrupting the bactoprenol-mediated transportation pathway.[7] This strategy was first identified by studying the antibiotic mechanism of friulimicin B.[8] Since then, other antibiotics that make use of a similar mechanism have been identified, including nisin[9] and lantibiotics such as NAI-107.[10]
^Jaenicke L, Siegmund HU (November 1989). "Synthesis and characterization of dolichols and polyprenols of designed geometry and chain length". Chemistry and Physics of Lipids. 51 (3–4): 159–70. doi:10.1016/0009-3084(89)90003-0.
^Barker DC, Thorne KJ (November 1970). "Spheroplasts of Lactobacillus casei and the cellular distribution of bactoprenol". Journal of Cell Science. 7 (3): 755–85. doi:10.1242/jcs.7.3.755. PMID4250091.
^Schneider T, Sahl HG (February 2010). "Lipid II and other bactoprenol-bound cell wall precursors as drug targets". Current Opinion in Investigational Drugs. 11 (2): 157–64. PMID20112165.