Cell wall‐anchored 5′‐nucleotidases in Gram‐positive cocci

Electromechanical interactions in cell walls of gram-positive cocci.

Isolated cell walls of Staphylococcus aureus and Micrococcus lysodeikticus were found to expand and contract in response to changes in environmental pH and ionic strength. These volume changes, which could amount to as much as a doubling of wall dextran-impermeable volume, were related to changes in electrostatic interactions among fixed, ionized groups in wall polymers, including peptidoglycan...

Gram-positive Cocci: Staphylococci

Identification and characterization of cell wall-cell division gene clusters in pathogenic gram-positive cocci.

Clusters of peptidoglycan biosynthesis and cell division genes (DCW genes) were identified and sequenced in two gram-positive cocci, Staphylococcus aureus and Enterococcus faecalis. The results indicated some similarities in organization compared with previously reported bacterial DCW gene clusters, including the presence of penicillin-binding proteins at the left ends and ftsA and ftsZ cell di...

Gram-positive anaerobic cocci.

Gram-positive anaerobic cocci (GPAC) are a heterogeneous group of organisms defined by their morphological appearance and their inability to grow in the presence of oxygen; most clinical isolates are identified to species in the genus Peptostreptococcus. GPAC are part of the normal flora of all mucocutaneous surfaces and are often isolated from infections such as deep organ abscesses, obstetric...

Vancomycin resistance in gram-positive cocci.

The first vancomycin-resistant clinical isolates of Enterococcus species were reported in Europe in 1988. Similar strains were later detected in hospitals on the East Coast of the United States. Since then, vancomycin-resistant enterococci have spread with unexpected rapidity and are now encountered in hospitals in most countries. This article reviews the mode of action and the mechanism of bac...