R. Rahim et al., Involvement of the rml locus in core oligosaccharide and O polysaccharide assembly in Pseudomonas aeruginosa, MICROBIO-UK, 146, 2000, pp. 2803-2814
L-Rhamnose (L-Rha) is a component of the lipopolysaccharide (LPS) core, sev
eral O antigen polysaccharides, and the cell surface surfactant rhamnolipid
of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. In this study, four contiguous genes (rmIBDAC)
responsible for the synthesis of dTDP-L-Rha in P. aeruginosa have been clon
ed and characterized. Non-polar chromosomal rmIC mutants were generated in
P. aeruginosa strains PAO1 (serotype O5) and PAK (serotype O6) and LPS extr
acted from the mutants was analysed by SDS-PACE and Western immunoblotting.
rmIC mutants of both serotype O5 and serotype O6 synthesized a truncated c
ore region which was unable to act as an attachment point for either A-band
or B-band O antigen. A rmd rmIC PAO1 double mutant (deficient in biosynthe
sis of both D-Rha and L-Rha) was constructed to facilitate structural analy
sis of the mutant core region. This strain has an incomplete core oligosacc
haride region and does not produce A-band O antigen. These results provide
the genetic and structural evidence that L-Rha is the receptor on the P. ae
ruginosa LPS core for the attachment of O polysaccharides. This is the firs
t report of a genetically defined mutation that affects the synthesis of a
single sugar in the core oligosaccharide region of P. aeruginosa LPS, and p
rovides further insight into the mechanisms of LPS biosynthesis and assembl
y in this bacterium.