The lipopolysaccharide of a chloridazon-degrading bacterium

Lipopolysaccharide of a chloridazon-degrading bacterium was obtained by a two-stage extraction procedure with phenol/EDTA in a yield of 0.3% of dried bacteria. The carbohydrate moiety consisted of heptose, 3-deoxyoctulosonic acid and D-glucose in a molar ratio of 1:2:2 X 3. Lipid A was composed of 1 mol 2,3-diamino-2,3-dideoxy-D-glucose, 2 mol amide-bound and 2.6 mol ester-bound fatty acids/mol. Amide-bound fatty acids were 3-hydroxydodecanoic acid and 3-hydroxyhexadecanoic acid; dodecanoic acid and R-(-)-3-hydroxydodec-5-cis-enoic acid were found to be present in ester linkage. Under conditions of acidic hydrolysis, the latter was converted into the cis and trans isomers of 5-hexyltetrahydrofuran-2-acetic acid. Dodecanoic acid was demonstrated to be linked with the hydroxy groups of the amide-bound fatty acids. The taxonomic significance of these results, especially the demonstration of 2,3-diamino-2, 3-dideoxy-D-glucose, is discussed.