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Chemical composition of a lipopolysaccharide from Legionella pneumophila

Archives of Microbiology volume 153, pages 72–78 (1989)Cite this article

Abstract

Lipopolysaccharide isolated from Legionella pneumophila (Phil. 1) was examined for chemical composition. The polysaccharide split off by mild acid hydrolysis contained rhamnose, mannose, glucose, quinovosamine, glucosamine and 2-keto-3-deoxyoctonate, in molar proportions 1.6:1.8:1.0:1.5:4.1:2.7. Heptoses were absent and glucose was probably mainly phosphorylated. The carbohydrate backbone of the lipid A part consisted of glucosamine, quinovosamine and glycerol, in the molar ratios 3.9:1.0:3.4, with glycerol as a phosphorylated moiety. A complex fatty acid substitution pattern comprising eight O-ester-linked, exclusively nonhydroxylated acids, and nineteen amide-linked, exclusively 3-hydroxylated acids was revealed. Both straight- and branched (iso and anteiso) carbon chains occurred. The major hydroxy fatty acid was 3-hydroxy-12-methyltridecanoic acid and six others were of a chain-length above 20 carbon atoms, with 3-hydroxy-20-methyldocosanoic acid as the longest. Two dihydroxy fatty acids, 2,3-dihydroxy-12-methyltridecanoic and 2,3-dihydroxytetradecanoic acids, were also detected. These results suggest that L. pneumophila contains a rather complex and unusual lipopolysaccharide structure of considerable biological and chemotaxonomic interest.

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Abbreviations

LPS:

lipopolysaccharide

PS:

polysaccharide

KDO:

2-keto-3-deoxy-octonate

GC:

gas chromatography

GC-MS:

gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer combined instrument

CI:

chemical ionization

EI:

electron impact

HF:

hydrofluoric acid

TFA:

trifluoroacetyl

TMS:

trimethylsilyl

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Technical Analytical Chemistry, Chemical Center, Lund University, P. O. Box 124, S-221 00, Lund, Sweden

    Anders Sonesson

  2. Statens Institutt for Folkehelse, Geitmyrsveien 75, N-0462, Oslo 4, Norway

    Erik Jantzen, Klaus Bryn & Jan Eng

  3. Department of Medical Microbiology, Lund University Hospital, Sölvegatan 23, S-223 62, Lund, Sweden

    Lennart Larsson

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  1. Anders Sonesson
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  2. Erik Jantzen
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  3. Klaus Bryn
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  4. Lennart Larsson
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  5. Jan Eng
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Sonesson, A., Jantzen, E., Bryn, K. et al. Chemical composition of a lipopolysaccharide from Legionella pneumophila . Arch. Microbiol. 153, 72–78 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00277544

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