Teichoic acid hydrolase activity in soil bacteria (Bacillus subtilis-sporulation-phosphodiesterase-polyamines-concanavalin A).

Bacterial phosphodiesterases have been found that are capable of cleaving the backbone of teichoic acid. Such enzymes have not been reported previously. An aerobic, gram-negative, rod-shaped bacterium producing this activity was detected and isolated by autoradiography of soil suspensions growing on minimal medium containing (32)P-labeled Bacillus subtilis ATCC 6051 cell walls as the sole phosphorus source.

Staphylococcus aureus H autolytic activity: general properties.

Staphylococcus aureus strain H has an autolytic activity which can be found in the cell wall but is most easily obtained from high-speed supernatant fractions of broken-cell preparations. As measured either turbidimetrically or radioactively, this activity is much greater on murein extracted from penicillin-treated cells than on murein extracted from normal cells.