title: Biosynthesis and export of bacterial lipopolysaccharides.
abstract: Lipopolysaccharide molecules represent a unique family of glycolipids based on a highly conserved lipid moiety known as lipid A. These molecules are produced by most gram-negative bacteria, in which they play important roles in the integrity of the outer-membrane permeability barrier and participate extensively in host-pathogen interplay. Few bacteria contain lipopolysaccharide molecules composed only of lipid A. In most forms, lipid A is glycosylated by addition of the core oligosaccharide that, in some bacteria, provides an attachment site for a long-chain O-antigenic polysaccharide. The complexity of lipopolysaccharide structures is reflected in the processes used for their biosynthesis and export. Rapid growth and cell division depend on the bacterial cell's capacity to synthesize and export lipopolysaccharide efficiently and in large amounts. We review recent advances in those processes, emphasizing the reactions that are essential for viability.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario N1G 2W1, Canada; email: cwhitfie@uoguelph.ca.
authors.forename: Chris
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Whitfield
authors.forename: M Stephen
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Trent
mesh_terms: D000255:Adenosine Triphosphate / Q000378:metabolism; D001419:Bacteria; D018407:Bacterial Physiological Phenomena; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D001692:Biological Transport; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000378:metabolism; D006017:Glycolipids / Q000378:metabolism; D006031:Glycosylation; D006090:Gram-Negative Bacteria / Q000378:metabolism; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000378:metabolism*; D019081:O Antigens / Q000378:metabolism; D010539:Permeability; D011134:Polysaccharides / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D006017:Glycolipids; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides; D019081:O Antigens; D011134:Polysaccharides; D000255:Adenosine Triphosphate
keywords: biosynthesis; endotoxin; gram-negative bacteria; lipid A; macromolecular trafficking; outer membranes