Studies of the Genetics, Function, and Kinetic Mechanism of TagE, the Wall Teichoic Acid Glycosyltransferase in Bacillus subtilis 168*

The biosynthetic enzymes involved in wall teichoic acid biogenesis in gram-positive bacteria have been the subject of renewed investigation in recent years with the benefit of modern tools of biochemistry and genetics. Nevertheless, there have been only limited investigations into the enzymes that glycosylate wall teichoic acid. Decades-old experiments in the model gram-positive bacterium, Bacillus subtilis 168, using phage-resistant mutants …