@article {1445, title = {(D)-Amino acid chemical reporters reveal peptidoglycan dynamics of an intracellular pathogen.}, journal = {ACS Chem Biol}, volume = {8}, year = {2013}, month = {2013 Mar 15}, pages = {500-5}, abstract = {

Peptidoglycan (PG) is an essential component of the bacterial cell wall. Although experiments with organisms in vitro have yielded a wealth of information on PG synthesis and maturation, it is unclear how these studies translate to bacteria replicating within host cells. We report a chemical approach for probing PG in vivo via metabolic labeling and bioorthogonal chemistry. A wide variety of bacterial species incorporated azide and alkyne-functionalized d-alanine into their cell walls, which we visualized by covalent reaction with click chemistry probes. The d-alanine analogues were specifically incorporated into nascent PG of the intracellular pathogen Listeria monocytogenes both in vitro and during macrophage infection. Metabolic incorporation of d-alanine derivatives and click chemistry detection constitute a facile, modular platform that facilitates unprecedented spatial and temporal resolution of PG dynamics in vivo.

}, keywords = {Alanine, Click Chemistry, Listeria monocytogenes, Molecular Conformation, Molecular Dynamics Simulation, Peptidoglycan}, issn = {1554-8937}, doi = {10.1021/cb3004995}, author = {Siegrist, M Sloan and Whiteside, Sarah and Jewett, John C and Aditham, Arjun and Cava, Felipe and Bertozzi, Carolyn R} }