Comparison of Lipids and Lipopolysaccharide from the Bacillary and L Forms of Proteus P18

Abstract

Nesbitt , J. A., III (The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Md.), and W. J. Lennarz . Comparison of lipids and lipopolysaccharides from the bacillary and L forms of Proteus P18. J. Bacteriol. 89: 1020–1025. 1965.—Comparative studies on the L form of Proteus P18 and the parent bacterium grown in a defined medium showed that the L form contained 1.5 times as much extractable lipid (dry weight) as the bacillary form. The composition of the lipids extractable by chloroform-methanol was quite similar in the two bacterial forms. The occurrence of myristate and β-hydroxymyristate in the bound, nonextractable lipid was found to be a reflection of the presence of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in each organism. The bacillary organism contains three to four times as much LPS as the L form. The LPS isolated from both organisms contains heptose, hexosamine, phosphorus, 3-deoxyoctulosonate, glucose, galactose, and fatty acids.