Muramic acid
Encyclopedia
Muramic acid is a form of sugar acid. Chemically it is the ether
between lactic acid
and glucosamine
. It occurs naturally as an N-acetyl derivative in peptidoglycan
which has many biological functions such as a component in many typical bacterial cell walls.
Chlamydiae are unusual for not having muramic acid in their cell walls.
Ether
Ethers are a class of organic compounds that contain an ether group — an oxygen atom connected to two alkyl or aryl groups — of general formula R–O–R'. A typical example is the solvent and anesthetic diethyl ether, commonly referred to simply as "ether"...
between lactic acid
Lactic acid
Lactic acid, also known as milk acid, is a chemical compound that plays a role in various biochemical processes and was first isolated in 1780 by the Swedish chemist Carl Wilhelm Scheele. Lactic acid is a carboxylic acid with the chemical formula C3H6O3...
and glucosamine
Glucosamine
Glucosamine is an amino sugar and a prominent precursor in the biochemical synthesis of glycosylated proteins and lipids. Glucosamine is part of the structure of the polysaccharides chitosan and chitin, which compose the exoskeletons of crustaceans and other arthropods, cell walls in fungi and...
. It occurs naturally as an N-acetyl derivative in peptidoglycan
Peptidoglycan
Peptidoglycan, also known as murein, is a polymer consisting of sugars and amino acids that forms a mesh-like layer outside the plasma membrane of bacteria , forming the cell wall. The sugar component consists of alternating residues of β- linked N-acetylglucosamine and N-acetylmuramic acid...
which has many biological functions such as a component in many typical bacterial cell walls.
Chlamydiae are unusual for not having muramic acid in their cell walls.