Decaprenylphosphorylated

Decaprenylphosphorylated describes a molecule in which a decaprenyl phosphate moiety is covalently attached to another substance via a phosphate linkage. The decaprenyl group is a long, hydrophobic isoprenoid chain that anchors to cellular membranes, and when linked through phosphate, it forms a lipid-linked carrier or donor used in biosynthetic pathways.

In bacterial cell wall biosynthesis, lipid carriers such as decaprenyl phosphate serve to shuttle sugar units across the membrane for incorporation into polymers like peptidoglycan and arabinogalactan. Decaprenylphosphorylated sugars act as activated donors that are transferred by glycosyltransferases to growing polysaccharide chains. A well-known example is decaprenylphosphoryl-D-arabinose (DPA), which donates arabinose residues for assembling the arabinan component of arabinogalactan in mycobacteria and related actinobacteria.

The process typically involves formation of a high-energy phosphate linkage between the decaprenyl lipid and a sugar phosphate, creating a lipid-linked sugar donor. This intermediate is then recognized by specific glycosyltransferases at the cytoplasmic face of the membrane, enabling the coordinated assembly of complex cell wall glycans. Because these lipid-linked intermediates are essential for cell wall integrity in many bacteria, decaprenylphosphorylated species are of interest in antimicrobial research, with inhibitors targeting their synthesis or transfer steps explored as potential antibiotics.

See also undecaprenyl phosphate; lipid carrier; arabinogalactan; peptidoglycan biosynthesis; DPA (decaprenylphosphoryl-D-arabinose).