Structure of the core oligosaccharide in the serotype O8 lipopolysaccharide from Klebsiella pneumoniae.

Two classes of mutants with O-antigen-deficient lipopolysaccharides were isolated from the serotype O8 reference strain, belonging to Klebsiella pneumoniae subspecies ozaenae. These mutants were selected by resistance to bacteriophage KO1-2, which recognizes and lyses strains with lipopolysaccharide molecules containing the D-galactan II O antigen. Strain RFK-11 contains a defect in O-antigen synthesis and has a complete core, including the attachment site for O antigen. This mutation is complemented by a plasmid carrying the rfb (O-antigen biosynthesis) gene cluster from the related K. pneumoniae serotype O1. In sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, the lipopolysaccharide from strain RFK-9 has a mobility typical of deep-rough lipopolysaccharide. RFK-9 lipopolysaccharide lacks the attachment site for O antigen. Lipopolysaccharides from strains RFK-9 and RFK-11 were isolated, and their structures were determined by methylation analyses, muclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, and mass spectroscopy. The deduced O8 core oligosaccharide includes the partial core structure reported for the K. pneumoniae subspecies pneumoniae serotype O1 lipopolysaccharide (M. Süsskind, S. Müller-Leonnies, W. Nimmich, H. Brade, and O. Holst, Carbohydr. Res. 269:C1-7, 1995), consistent with the possibility of a conserved core structure within the species. The core oligosaccharide differs from those of the genera Salmonella and Escherichia by the absence of a hexose-containing outer core, the lack of phosphate residues in the inner core, and the presence of galacturonic acid residues.