PEPTIDOGLYCAN COMPOSITION OF VANCOMYCIN-RESISTANT ENTEROCOCCUS-FAECIUM

Muropeptide composition of peptidoglycan isolated from isogenic vancom ycin-resistant and -sensitive Enterococcus faecium strains was analyze d by reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography combined wit h amino acid and fast atom bombardment mass spectrometric analyses, Pe ptidoglycan of the sensitive and resistant strains was the same and wa s composed of tri- and tetrapeptides stem peptide subunits with or wit hout aspartate or asparagine substitutions on the epsilon-amino group of the lysine residue, Thus, the synthesis of lactate-terminating pept idoglycan precursors in vancomycin-resistant E. faecium did not affect the chemical composition of peptidoglycan.