Chemical and Physical Properties of Lipopolysaccharide of Yersinia pestis

Abstract

Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) prepared from Yersinia pestis 195/P contained d -glucose, d -glycero- d -mannoheptose, l -glycero- d -mannoheptose, glucosamine, 3-deoxyoctulosonic acid, lipid A, β-hydroxymyristate, acetyl, phosphate, and protein. Traces of ethanolamine, mannose, and galactose were also detected. The lipid A moiety was composed of glucosamine substituted with phosphate, amide-linked β-hydroxymyristate, and amide-bound acetate. The absence of significant amounts of additional fatty acids indicates a lipid A structure somewhat less complex than that of other gram-negative bacteria. The sugars identified are those generally found in the “core” region of LPS from the Enterobacteriaceae , with the exception of the d -glycero- d -mannoheptose. The molecular weight of the aggregated LPS was estimated to be 1.6 × 10 8 .