noun
- Complex polymers found in bacterial cell walls, consisting of polysaccharides linked to peptides; also called peptidoglycans.
Usage: technical; biochemistry; microbiology; plural form
Examples
- Mucopeptides are essential structural components of bacterial cell walls.
- The antibiotic penicillin works by disrupting the synthesis of mucopeptides in bacteria.
- Researchers studied how mucopeptides contribute to bacterial cell wall rigidity.
- Gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria differ in their mucopeptide composition.
- The breakdown of mucopeptides can weaken bacterial cell walls and lead to cell lysis.