Bactoprenol also known as dolichol-11 and (isomerically vaguely) C55-isoprenyl alcohol (C55-OH) is a lipid first identified in certain species of lactobacilli.

[1] It is a hydrophobic alcohol that plays a key role in the growth of cell walls (peptidoglycan) in Gram-positive bacteria.

[5] Bactoprenol is thought to play a key role in the formation of cell walls in Gram-positive bacteria by cycling peptidoglycan monomers through the plasma membrane and inserting these monomers at points of growth in the bacterial cell wall.

[6] Because bactoprenol is so important for cell growth, numerous antibiotic compounds function by disrupting the bactoprenol-mediated transportation pathway.

[8] Since then, other antibiotics that make use of a similar mechanism have been identified, including nisin[9] and lantibiotics such as NAI-107.