[Effect of flavonoids on the composition of surface glycopolymers in Azospirillum lipoferum Sp59b]

Cultivation of the type strain Azospirillum lipoferum Sp59b in the presence of the flavonoid quercetin induced modification of the structure of the bacterial lipopolysaccharide. Cultivation in the presence of the flavonoid was shown to result in altered serological characteristics of the bacteria, increased heterogeneity of the outer membrane lipopolysaccharide pool, as well as in modified composition and fatty acid ratio of lipid A. The flavonoid was shown to induce the synthesis of the O-specific polysaccharide with the repeating structure represented by a tetrasaccharide consisting of a linear trisaccharide fragment of α-L-Rhap residues in the main chain and the terminal β-D-Glcp residue. The structure of this O-specific polysaccharide was identical to the previously determined structure of the capsular polysaccharide of these bacteria grown without quercetin. Modifications in the structural composition of the capsular polysaccharide induced by cultivation in the presence of quercetin were revealed.