Question

What is the function of teichoic acid in gram postive bacteria? And why does gram negative bacteria lack of teichoic acid?

Answer 1

Answere :

Many gram positive bacteria have acidic polysaccharides called teichoic acids in their cell wall. Teichoic acids are polyalcohols residues connected by phosphate esters along with sugars and D-alanine. The main function can of teichoic acid is to connects the sheets of peptidoglycan together in cell wall.

Four important functions of teichoic acids are :

1.It partially responsible for the negative charge of cell wall.
2.It bind divalent cations (ions that have 2 positive charges).
3. It serve as an autolysins- (open the cell wall to more cell wall can be synthesized- so things in the rigid structure open allowing growth & division).
4.It provide antigenic (foreign) speficity of the cell.

Gram negative bacteria lack teichoic acid in their cell wall because it has very less amount of peptidoglycan in its cell wall and has more lipid content.

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