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Characterization of the Lipopolysaccharide and Structure of the O-Specific Polysaccharide of the Bacterium Pseudomonas syringae pv. atrofaciens IMV 948

G. M. Zdorovenko1*, A. S. Shashkov2, E. L. Zdorovenko2, N. A. Kocharova2, L. M. Yakovleva1, Yu. A. Knirel2, and K. Rudolph3

1Zabolotny Institute of Microbiology and Virology, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, ul. Zabolotnogo 154, Kiev, 252143 Ukraine; fax: (044) 266-2379; E-mail: zdorov@i.kiev.ua

2Zelinsky Institute of Organic Chemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, Leninskii pr. 47, Moscow, 117913 Russia; fax: (095) 135-5328; E-mail: knirel@ioc.ac.ru

3Institut fur Pflazenpathologie und Pflanzenschutz, Georg-August-Universitat, Grisebachstrasse 6, 37077 Gottingen, Germany; fax: (49) 551-394187; E-mail: krudolp@gwdg.de

* To whom correspondence should be addressed.

Received May 18, 2000; Revision received November 12, 2000
Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) was isolated from the phytopathogenic bacterium Pseudomonas syringae pv. atrofaciens IMV 948 by mild extraction of the microbial cells with saline, and the properties, composition, and structure of the LPS were studied. The LPS showed low toxicity in D- galactosamine-sensitized mice and low biological activity in plants. Structural components of LPS--lipid A, core oligosaccharide, and O-specific polysaccharide (OPS)--were obtained by mild acid degradation and characterized. The lipid A contained fatty acids 3-HO-C10:0, C12:0, 2-HO-C12:0, 3-HO-C12:0, C16:0, C16:1, C18:0, and C18:1, as well as components of the hydrophilic moiety: GlcN, ethanolamine, phosphate, and phosphoethanolamine. The LPS core contained components typical of pseudomonads: glucose, rhamnose (Rha), L-glycero-D-manno-heptose, GlcN, GalN, 2-keto-3-deoxy-D-manno-octonic acid, alanine, and phosphate. The OPS consisted of L-Rha and D-GlcNAc in the ratio 4 : 1 and was structurally heterogeneous. The main pentasaccharide repeating unit of the OPS has the following structure: [figure]. Immunochemical studies showed that P. syringae pv. atrofaciens IMV 948 is serologically separate from other P. syringae strains, including those that have structurally similar OPS.
KEY WORDS: Pseudomonas syringae, lipopolysaccharide, composition, structure, immunochemistry