Heterologous expression, purification and biochemical characterization of a glutamate racemase (MurI) fromStreptococcus mutansUA159

Background Glutamate racemase (MurI) is a cofactor-independent enzyme that is essential to the bacterial peptidoglycan biosynthesis pathway and has therefore been considered an attractive target for the development of antimicrobial drugs. While in our previous study the essentiality of the murI gene was shown in Streptococcus mutans , the primary aetiologic agent of human dental caries, studies on S. mutans MurI have not yet provided definitive...