Characterization of the lipopolysaccharides from Rhizobium meliloti strain 102F51 and its nonnodulating mutant WL113

Lipopolysaccharides from the Rhizobium meliloti wild-type strain 102F51, which is effective in symbiosis with alfalfa, and from the nonnodulating mutant WL113, defective in root hair adhesion, derived thereof, were isolated and comparatively analyzed. Both preparations were composed of galactose, glucose, glucuronic acid, galacturonic acid, glucosamine, 3-deoxyheptulosaric acid, and 2-keto-3-deoxyoctonic acid as the major sugar constitutents. After a modified methylation analysis (consisting of the following consecutive steps: methylation, carboxyl reduction, remethylation, mild acid hydrolysis, reduction, and trideuterio-methylation), all of the 3-deoxyheptulosaric and some of the 2-keto-3-deoxyoctonic acid residues were converted into their corresponding 3-deoxyalditol derivatives, which carried trideuteriomethyl groups at positions C-2, C-4, and C-6. Another part of the permethylated 3-deoxyoctitol was also found as 2,5,6- and 2,6,8-tri-O-trideuteriomethyl derivatives. NMR data obtained with the separated oligosaccharides and the results of methylation analysis indicated that the majority of 2-keto-3-deoxyoctonate was present in the fraction of permethylated disaccharide alditols, namely as 6-O-CD3-alpha Glc(1-->5)3-deoxyoctitol, 6-O-CD3-beta GlcNMeAcyl(1-->4)-3-deoxyoctitol, and as the permethylated trisaccharide alditol, alpha GalA(1-->3)-[6-O-CD3]-beta-Glc(1-->5)-[4-O-CD3]-3-deoxyoctitol. The presence of trideuteriomethyl groups at C-4 of both 3-deoxyalditols and at C-6 of the glucosaminyl or glycosyl residues indicated the linkage points of the released acid-labile ketosidic substituents, such as 3-deoxyheptulosarate and 2-keto-3-deoxyoctonate, in these oligosaccharides. The main differences between the preparations from the wild-type 102F51 and its mutant strain WL 113 were found in the higher content (in strain 102F51) of the following oligosaccharides: alpha-glucuronosyl(1-->4)2-keto-3-deoxyoctonate and alpha-galacturonosyl-(1-->3)alpha-glucosyl-(1-->5)2-keto-3-deoxyoc tonate and in the decreased content of beta-glucosaminyl(1-->4)2-keto-3-deoxy-octonate.