Peptidoglycan

class of compounds

Peptidoglycan or murein is a polymer that makes up the cell walls of bacteria. It is made of many sugars (or monosaccharides), and amino acids.

One repeating unit of the polymer
The overall shape of peptidoglycan

Peptidoglycan is made of chains of sugars. Each chain has N-acetylglucosamine and N-acetylmuramic acid, one after the other. The chains are linked to each other by 4-5 amino acids, and other sugar molecules, such as glycine.[1]

References

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  1. Voet, Donald; Voet, Judith G. (2011). Biochemistry (4th ed.). John Wiley & Sons, Inc. pp. 376. ISBN 9780470570951.