Structure of lipid A from a stem-nodulating bacterium Azorhizobium caulinodans

The structure of the lipid A of the lipopolysaccharide (LPS) from Azorhizobium caulinodans, a symbiont of the tropical legume Sesbania rostrata, was investigated by chemical compositional analyses, mass spectrometry, as well as 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopy techniques. The lipid A backbone was composed of a β-(1→6)-linked 2,3-diamino-2,3-dideoxy-D-glucopyranose (GlcpN3N) disaccharide and α-D-glucuronic acid (GlcpA). Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy revealed that the GlcpA was connected to the reducing end of the diaminosugar disaccharide via an α-(1→1) glycosidic bond. The lipid A was deprived of phosphate residues. ESI-MS analysis showed that the lipid A preparation was a mixture of molecules due to the occurrence of different acylation patterns. The GlcpN3N disaccharide backbone was N-acylated at the C-2, C-3, C-2' and C-3' positions with 3-OH-18:0, 3-OH-14:0, 3-OH-20:1 and 3-OH-14:0 fatty acids, respectively. Nonpolar fatty acids as well as 3-OH-18:0 were found to be ester-linked. They were attached to hydroxyl groups of primary 3-OH fatty acids giving three acyloxyacyl moieties. Thus, the complete lipid A from A. caulinodans comprised seven acyl residues. Part of the lipid A molecules was esterified by 3-methoxybutyric acid. Azorhizobium caulinodans did not incorporate ω-1 hydroxylated very long chain fatty acids (e.g., 27-OH-28:0) into the lipid A, which makes this variant of endotoxin unusual among rhizobial lipids A.