A compound containing amino acid s (or peptides) linked to sugars, with the latter preponderant. Cf.:glycopeptide. SYN: mucopeptide (2).
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pep·ti·do·gly·can .pep-təd-ō-'glī-.kan n a polymer that is composed of polysaccharide and peptide chains and is found esp. in bacterial cell walls called also mucopeptide, murein
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pep·ti·do·gly·can (pep″tĭ-do-gliґkən) a high-molecular-weight polymer that forms the tough, rigid structure of bacterial cell walls. It is made up of three parts: (1) a backbone, composed of alternating N-acetylglucosamine and N-acetylmuramic acid; (2) a set of identical tetrapeptide side-chains attached to N-acetylmuramic acid; and (3) a set of identical peptide cross-bridges. The backbone is the same in all bacterial species; however, the tetrapeptide side-chains and the peptide cross-bridges vary from species to species.Medical dictionary. 2011.