Role of O-antigen variation in the immune response.
The O antigen is an extremely variable surface polysaccharide of Gram-negative bacteria. This variation is thought to allow the various clones of a species each to present a surface that offers a selective advantage in the niche occupied by that clone. The interactions between O antigen and the immune system are central to determining the selective advantage of each clone.
Reeves
P
P
Dept of Microbiology (G08), University of Sydney, NSW, Australia.
D000818:Animals; D000940:Antigenic Variation; D002240:Carbohydrate Sequence; D003165:Complement System Proteins / Q000276:immunology; D006090:Gram-Negative Bacteria / Q000276:immunology*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D015394:Molecular Structure; D019081:O Antigens / Q000737:chemistry / Q000276:immunology*
D019081:O Antigens; D003165:Complement System Proteins