Characterization of polysaccharides of Rhizobium meliloti exo mutants that form ineffective nodules.

Mutants of Rhizobium meliloti SU47 with defects in the production of the Calcofluor-binding expolysaccharide succinoglycan failed to gain entry into alfalfa root nodules. In order to define better the polysaccharide phenotypes of these exo mutants, we analyzed the periplasmic oligosaccharide cyclic (1-2)-beta-D-glucan and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in representative mutants. The exoC mutant lacked the glucan and had abnormal LPS which appeared to lack a substantial portion of the O side chain. The exoB mutant had a spectrum of LPS species which differed from those of both the wild-type parental strain and the exoC mutant. The presence of the glucan and normal LPS in the exoA, exoD, exoF, and exoH mutants eliminated defects in these carbohydrates as explanations for the nodule entry defects of these mutants. We also assayed for high- and low-molecular-weight succinoglycans. All of the exo mutants except exoD and exoH completely lacked both forms. For the Calcofluor-dim exoD mutant, the distribution of high- and low-molecular-weight forms depended on the growth medium. The haloless exoH mutant produced high-molecular-weight and only a trace of low-molecular-weight succinoglycan; the succinyl modification was missing, as was expected from the results of previous studies. The implications of these observations with regard to nodule entry are discussed.