title: Differentiation between Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans and Haemophilus aphrophilus based on carbohydrates in lipopolysaccharide.
abstract: In the present study, the closely related facultative, Gram-negative rods, Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans and Haemophilus aphrophilus, were distinguished taxonomically by means of their carbohydrate composition in phenol-extracted lipopolysaccharide. Both A. actinomycetemcomitans and H. aphrophilus lipopolysaccharide contained rhamnose, fucose, galactose, glucose, L-glycero-D-mannoheptose, galactosamine, and glucosamine. The content of galactose was approximately twice as high in lipopolysaccharide from H. aphrophilus as in lipopolysaccharide from A. actinomycetemcomitans. D-Glycero-D-mannoheptose was detected exclusively in lipopolysaccharide from A. actinomycetemcomitans where it constituted 11.8-16.7% of the sugar content. This aldoheptose may therefore serve as a marker for chemotaxonomic differentiation between A. actinomycetemcomitans and H. aphrophilus. The present study also describes fragmentation of methylheptoside derivatives of trifluoroacetic acid (D-glycero- and L-glycero-D-mannoheptose) from A. actinomycetemcomitans as suggested by mass spectrometry.
mesh_terms: D000188:Actinobacillus / Q000032:analysis / Q000145:classification*; D002241:Carbohydrates / Q000032:analysis*; D002849:Chromatography, Gas / Q000379:methods; D005688:Galactosamine / Q000032:analysis; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry / Q000379:methods; D005947:Glucose / Q000032:analysis; D006190:Haemophilus / Q000032:analysis / Q000145:classification*; D006868:Hydrolysis; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides / Q000032:analysis*; D000432:Methanol; D009626:Terminology as Topic
chemical_list: D002241:Carbohydrates; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides; D005688:Galactosamine; D005947:Glucose; D000432:Methanol