title: Characterization of structural defects in the lipopolysaccharides of symbiotically impaired Rhizobium leguminosarum biovar viciae VF-39 mutants.
abstract: The lipopolysaccharides (LPS) of a wild type strain of Rhizobium leguminosarum biovar viciae (strain VF-39) and two symbiotically defective Tn5 mutants (VF-39-32 and VF-39-86) have been studied. The LPS of the mutants reflected impaired synthesis of the O-antigen. In the LPS of one mutant, the core tetrasaccharide was lacking and in that of the other it was truncated to a disaccharide containing mannose and 3-deoxy-D-manno-oct-2-ulosonic acid (KdO). The latter mutant also synthesized an unusual carbohydrate component containing mannose, galactose, and an unidentified saccharide. The lipid A composition was similar to that found in other strains of R. leguminosarum biovar viciae. The O-antigen of the wild-type bacterium contained 2-O-methylfucose, fucose, 3,6-dideoxy-3-(methylamino)hexose, glucose, 2-amino-2,6-dideoxyhexose, and heptose. This study clearly defines a role for the bacterial LPS in the proper functioning of the Rhizobium legume symbiosis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Michigan State University, East Lansing 48824.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: R I
authors.initials: RI
authors.lastname: Hollingsworth
authors.forename: U B
authors.initials: UB
authors.lastname: Priefer
mesh_terms: D002236:Carbohydrate Conformation; D002240:Carbohydrate Sequence; D002849:Chromatography, Gas; D002850:Chromatography, Gel; D004251:DNA Transposable Elements; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D015394:Molecular Structure; D009154:Mutation; D009844:Oligosaccharides / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification; D016961:Rhizobium leguminosarum / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D004251:DNA Transposable Elements; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides; D009844:Oligosaccharides