Characterization of the lipopolysaccharide from a wbjE mutant of the serogroup O11 Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain, PA103.

The lipopolysaccharide (LPS) of a wbjE mutant of Pseudomonas aeruginosa PA103, a serogroup O11 strain consists of both high and low molecular weight (HMW and LMW) LPSs. The HMW LPS consisted exclusively of rhamnan A-band LPS and no B-band LPS was detected in the wbjE mutant. Interestingly, the LMW LPS from the wbjE mutant showed that it contained a variety of oligosaccharides, each with two or three phosphate groups present as mono- or pyrophosphates. These oligosaccharides consisted of the complete core octasaccharide. The GalN residue was present as an N-acetylated residue in all of these oligosaccharides except the tetrasaccharide in which it is present as an N-alanylated residue. None of these oligosaccharides contained either a d- or l-FucpNAc residue. These results are discussed with regard to the role of wbjE in the biosynthesis of P. aeruginosa PA103 B-band LPS.