Diaminopimelic acid (DAP) is an

amino acid Amino acids are organic compounds that contain both amino and carboxylic acid functional groups. Although hundreds of amino acids exist in nature, by far the most important are the alpha-amino acids, which comprise proteins. Only 22 alpha ...

, representing an epsilon-carboxy derivative of

lysine Lysine (symbol Lys or K) is an α-amino acid that is a precursor to many proteins. It contains an α-amino group (which is in the protonated form under biological conditions), an α-carboxylic acid group (which is in the deprotonated − ...

. DAP is a characteristic of certain

cell wall A cell wall is a structural layer surrounding some types of cells, just outside the cell membrane. It can be tough, flexible, and sometimes rigid. It provides the cell with both structural support and protection, and also acts as a filtering mec ...

s of some bacteria. DAP is often found in the peptide linkages of NAM-NAG chains that make up the cell wall of

gram-negative Gram-negative bacteria are bacteria that do not retain the crystal violet stain used in the Gram staining method of bacterial differentiation. They are characterized by their cell envelopes, which are composed of a thin peptidoglycan cell wa ...

bacteria. When provided, they exhibit normal growth. When in deficiency, they still grow but with the inability to make new cell wall peptidoglycan. This is also the attachment point for

Braun's lipoprotein Braun's lipoprotein (BLP, Lpp, murein lipoprotein, or major outer membrane lipoprotein), found in some gram-negative cell walls, is one of the most abundant membrane proteins; its molecular weight is about 7.2 kDa. It is bound at its C-terminal en ...

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Amino acids Dicarboxylic acids Non-proteinogenic amino acids {{organic-compound-stub

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