title: Association of plasmids with the carbohydrate composition of the O-antigen in Shigella dysenteriae type 1.
abstract: Six different prepared mutant strains of Shigella dysenteriae type 1 with various combinations of 'core' plasmids of 140, 6, and 2 Mdal, were cultivated separately and their lipopolysaccharide (LPS) samples were isolated, which on delipidation afforded polysaccharides and oligosaccharides. The LPS and prepared O-antigen polysaccharides were subjected to acid hydrolysis, and the constituent sugars were analysed by paper chromatography and gas liquid chromatography (GLC), using CP Sil 8 CB fused silica capillary column equipped with a flame ionization detector. The mutant strains, harbouring the 6 Mdal plasmid, contained rhamnose, galactose, and N-acetyl glucosamine in their O-antigen polysaccharides with a minor variation in the relative proportions of these sugar constituents as compared to those of the control strain. The sugar composition of the O-antigen polysaccharides prepared from the mutant stains, without the 6 Mdal plasmid but containing 2 or 140 Mdal plasmid, contained galactose and N-acetyl glucosamine but no rhamnose. However, mutant strains with none of the core plasmids contained traces of rhamnose and were devoid of N-acetyl glucosamine, but contained heptose. These results suggest that 6 Mdal plasmid is essentially required for the complete synthesis of O-antigen polysaccharides. However, the 140 and 2 Mdal plasmids might also have an association with synthesis of carbohydrate composition of the O-antigen in S. dysenteriae type 1.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Dhaka, Bangladesh.
authors.forename: M L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Hossain
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Haider
authors.forename: T A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Chowdhury
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mosihuzzaman
mesh_terms: D002241:Carbohydrates / Q000737:chemistry; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides / Q000737:chemistry; D009154:Mutation; D019081:O Antigens; D010957:Plasmids; D011135:Polysaccharides, Bacterial / Q000737:chemistry; D012762:Shigella dysenteriae / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D002241:Carbohydrates; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides; D019081:O Antigens; D011135:Polysaccharides, Bacterial