| Title | Assembly of Bacterial Surface Glycopolymers as an Antibiotic Target |
|---|---|
| Author | Hongbaek Cho* |
| Address | Department of Biological Sciences, College of Natural Sciences, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 16419, Republic of Korea |
| Bibliography | Journal of Microbiology, 61(3),359-367, 2023, |
| DOI | 10.1007/s12275-023-00032-w |
| Key Words | Peptidoglycan · Surface glycopolymers · O-antigen · Wall teichoic acids · Lipid carrier · Undecaprenyl phosphate · Antibiotics |
| Abstract | Bacterial cells are covered with various glycopolymers such as peptidoglycan (PG), lipopolysaccharides (LPS), teichoic acids, and capsules. Among these glycopolymers, PG assembly is the target of some of our most effective antibiotics, consistent with its essentiality and uniqueness to bacterial cells. Biosynthesis of other surface glycopolymers have also been acknowledged as potential targets for developing therapies to control bacterial infections, because of their importance for bacterial survival in the host environment. Moreover, biosynthesis of most surface glycopolymers are closely related to PG assembly because the same lipid carrier is shared for glycopolymer syntheses. In this review, I provide an overview of PG assembly and antibiotics that target this pathway. Then, I discuss the implications of a common lipid carrier being used for assembly of PG and other surface glycopolymers in antibiotic development. |