STRUCTURE OF THE O-SPECIFIC POLYSACCHARIDE OF THE BACTERIUM PROTEUS PENNERI 103, CONTAINING RIBITOL AND 2-AMINOETHYL PHOSPHATES

D. Drzewieckaa, F.V. Toukachb, N.P. Arbatskyb, K. Zycha, A.S. Shashkovb, Y.A. Knirelb, Z. Sidorczyka

aInstitute of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Lodz, Poland
bN. D. Zelinsky Institute of Organic Chemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia

KEYWORDS: Proteus penneri; O-antigen; O-specific polysaccharide; lipopolysaccharide; structure; ribitol phosphate, ethanolamine phosphate

Carbohydr. Res., 2002, v.337, pp.1535-1540

DOI: 10.1016/S0008-6215(02)00265-3


The O-specific polysaccharide the lipopolysaccharide of Proteus penneri strain 103 was studied using 1H and 13C NMR spectroscopy, including 2D COSY, TOCSY, NOESY, H-detected 1H,13C HMQC, H-detected 1H,31P HMQC and HMBC experiments. It was found that the polysaccharide is built up of oligosaccharide-ribitol phosphate repeating units and resembles thus ribitol teichoic acids of Gram-positive bacteria. The following structure of the polysaccharide was established:

                                PEtN
                                |6
-3)bDGalpNAc(1-2)Rib-ol(1-P-4)bDGlcp(1-3)bDGalp(1-

where EtN and Rib-ol are ethanolamine and ribitol, respectively. This structure is unique among the known structures of Proteus O-antigens and, therefore, it was proposed to classify the strain studied into a new Proteus serogroup, O73. The molecular basis for cross-reactivity between O-antiserum against P. penneri 103 and O-antigens of P. mirabilis O33 and D52 is discussed.


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