Difference Between Ribitol and Glycerol Teichoic Acid

The key difference between ribitol and glycerol teichoic acid is that ribitol teichoic acid contains polyribitol phosphate units in the main chain, while glycerol teichoic acid contains poly-glycerol phosphate units in the main chain.

Teichoic acid is a compound found in the cell wall of most Gram-positive bacteria. Teichoic acids are copolymers of glycerol phosphate or ribitol phosphate and carbohydrates. They link together through phosphodiester bonds. The primary function of teichoic acid in bacteria is to provide flexibility to the cell wall by attracting cations. There are two types of teichoic acids in the cell wall. They are wall teichoic acid and lipoteichoic acids. Wall teichoic acids are attached to peptidoglycan while lipoteichoic acids are attached to membrane lipids. Teichoic acids make them potential antibiotic targets. Based on the polyol phosphate in the main chain of teichoic acid, there are two types of teichoic acids as ribitol and glycerol teichoic acid.

CONTENTS

1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Ribitol Teichoic Acid
3. What is Glycerol Teichoic Acid
4. Similarities Between Ribitol and Glycerol Teichoic Acid
5. Side by Side Comparison – Ribitol vs Glycerol Teichoic Acid in Tabular Form
6. Summary

What is Ribitol Teichoic Acid?

Ribitol teichoic acid is a type of teichoic acid that consists of polyribitol phosphate chain. The repeating unit is ribitol-1-phosphate. Poly ribitol is linked through phosphodiester bridges. In many gram-positive bacteria, the subtype I-R 1,5 polymers (phosphodiester bonds link C-1 and C-5 of ribitol) are the most frequently found. When compared to glycerol teichoic acid, ribitol teichoic acid is less widely occurring in cell wall teichoic acids.

What is Glycerol Teichoic Acid?

Glycerol teichoic acid is a type of teichoic acid which consists of poly-glycerol phosphate chain. The repeating unit is glycerol-1-phosphate. There are approximately 20 to 30 repeats in the polyglycerol phosphate chain.

Polyglycerol units are linked through phosphodiester bridges. 1,3-poly(glycerol phosphate) and 2,3-poly(glycerol phosphate) polymers are the two types that represent polyglycerol phosphates. Poly-glycerol phosphates are the most widely occurring bacterial cell wall teichoic acids.

What are the Similarities Between Ribitol and Glycerol Teichoic Acid?

• Both ribitol and glycerol teichoic acid are two types of teichoic acid based on the polyol chain.
• They are exclusively found in gram-positive bacteria cell walls.
• The glycerol phosphate or ribitol phosphate are linked via phosphodiester bonds.
• Both types can be identified based on variations of the polyols and the localization of phosphodiester bonds.

What is the Difference Between Ribitol and Glycerol Teichoic Acid?

Ribitol teichoic acid consists of a poly-ribitol phosphate chain while glycerol teichoic acid consists of a poly-glycerol phosphate chain. So, this is the key difference between ribitol and glycerol teichoic acid. Moreover, another difference between ribitol and glycerol teichoic acid is that compared to the ribitol teichoic acid, the glycerol teichoic acid occurs more widely in bacterial cell wall teichoic acids.

Summary – Ribitol vs Glycerol Teichoic Acid

Teichoid acid is a unique polymer found in Gram-positive bacterial cell wall. There are two types of teichoic acids: wall teichoic acid (linked to peptidoglycan) and lipoteichoic acid (associated with the cytoplasmic membrane). Teichoic acid is a polymer of glycerol or ribitol. Based on that, there are two types of teichoic acids as ribitol teichoic acid and glycerol teichoic acid. Ribitol teichoic acid has a long chain comprised of ribitol phosphate repeats while glycerol teichoic acid has a long chain of glycerol phosphate repeats. Thus, this is the key difference between ribitol and glycerol teichoic acid.

Reference:

1. Naumova, Irina B., et al. “Cell Wall Teichoic Acids: Structural Diversity, Species Specificity in the Genus Nocardiopsis, and Chemotaxonomic Perspective.” OUP Academic, Oxford University Press, 1 May 2001, Available here.
2. “Teichoic Acid.” Teichoic Acid – an Overview | ScienceDirect Topics, Available here.

Image Courtesy:

1. “Lipoteichoic acid” By Michał Sobkowski – Own work, according to (1) Morath, S; Geyer, A; Hartung, T, “Structure-function relationship of cytokine induction by lipoteichoic acid from Staphylococcus aureus”, Journal of Experimental Medicine, 193, 393-397, 2001, PMID 11157059 and (2) Figueroa-Perez I, Stadelmaier A, Deininger S, et al., “Synthesis of Staphylococcus aureus lipoteichoic acid derivatives for determining the minimal structural requirements for cytokine induction”  Carbohydrate Research, 341, 2901-2911, 2006, doi:10.1016/j.carres.2006.10.003 (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “Sn-glycerol 1-phosphate” By Mzaki – Own work (Public Domain) via Commons Wikimedia