Structural analysis of the capsular polysaccharide from Campylobacter jejuni RM1221

The complete genome of Campylobacter jejuni strain RM1221 (Penner serotype HS:53) was reported recently and contains a novel capsular polysaccharide (CPS) biosynthesis locus. Cell-surface carbohydrates such as CPS are known to be important for bacterial survival and often contribute to pathogenesis. In this study, we describe the complete structure of the CPS of C. jejuni RM1221, which was determined by using NMR spectroscopy, MS, and chemical methods. The CPS contains 6-deoxy-D-manno-heptose and D-threo-pent-2-ulose (D-xylulose), two monosaccharides that are rarely found in bacterial polysaccharides. The CPS has a regular structure of a linear main chain of trisaccharide repeating units, composed of two alpha- and one beta-6-deoxy-D-manno-heptopyranose residues, which are linked through a phosphodiester linkage. Branching residues of xylulose are incorporated nonstoichiometrically: each trisaccharide repeating unit of the main chain bears no, one, or two xylulose residues. The xylulose glycosidic linkages are extremely acid labile, and it is not clear how they can be preserved under the acidic conditions of the gastrointestinal tract, where Campylobacter resides during infection. We have also shown that the CPS biosynthesis genes of C. jejuni RM1221 are conserved in other C. jejuni strains of the Penner serotype HS:53, including serotype HS:53 reference strain RM3435.