Both Neisseria meningitidis and Haemophilus influenzae are capable of mimicking host structures by decorating their lipopolysaccharides with sialic acid. We show that a neuraminidase expressed by Streptococcus pneumoniae (NanA) is able to desialylate the cell surfaces of both these species, which reside in and possibly compete for the same host niche.

Complementation experiments, Tn5 mutagenesis, and DNA sequencing were used to identify a locus (lag-1) that participates in acetylation of Legionella pneumophila serogroup 1 lipopolysaccharide. Nuclear magnetic resonance analyses of lipopolysaccharides from mutant and complemented strains suggest that lag-1 is responsible for O acetylation of serogroup 1 O polysaccharide.

An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for detecting human immunoglobulin G to spotted fever group rickettsiae was developed and tested. The assay uses proteinase K-resistant material, characteristic of the rickettsial lipopolysaccharides shown to be group specific by immunoblots, as the antigen. The results indicate that the assay provides a sensitive, yet specific, alternative method for diagno...

While transfection of tlr2 conveyed responsiveness to lipoteichoic acid (LTA), the Arg753Gln polymorphic gene could not. LTA induced a stronger chemokine and anti-inflammatory response than lipopolysaccharides did. Blood from heterozygous polymorphic and wild-type donors reacted uniformly to LTA and Staphylococcus aureus. Thus, one functional allele for Toll-like receptor 2 suffices for full cy...

The review presents the structures of the O-specific polysaccharides (O-antigens) of the lipopolysaccharides isolated from over 25 Citrobacter strains, which represent different species and serogroups. The correlation between O-antigen structure and immunospecificity as well as numerous cross-reactions between Citrobacter and other enterobacterial species are discussed.

To determine bacteriophage PhiX174's ecological niche, 783 Escherichia coli isolates were screened for susceptibility. Sensitive strains are diverse regarding their phylogenies and core lipopolysaccharides (LPS), but all have rough phenotypes. Further analysis of E. coli K-12 LPS mutants revealed that PhiX174 can use a wide diversity of LPS structures to initiate its infectious process.

Lipopolysaccharides free P[3-hydroxybutyrate (3HB)-co-3-hydroxyvalerate (3HV)] production was achieved using recombinant Corynebacterium glutamicum harboring polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) biosynthetic genes from Ralstonia eutropha. Cells grown on glucose with feeding of propionate as a precursor of 3HV unit accumulated 8-47wt% of P(3HB-co-3HV). The 3HV fraction in the copolymer was varied from 0 t...