Sugar composition and serological specificity of Erwinia carotovora lipopolysaccharides

Abstract

Sugar composition and serological specificity of the lipopolysaccharides (LPS) purified from 16 Erwinia carotovora strains in six different serogroups were determined. All the LPS preparations contained 2-keto-3-deoxyoctonoic acid, glucosamine, heptose, and glucose, and most contained galactose. Either rhamnose or fucose was present in LPS from 12 of the strains, and the presence or absence of these deoxy sugars was consistent for all strains within a serogroup. LPS from two strains contained mannose. One unidentified sugar was present in all LPS preparations, but six other unidentified sugars varied in different LPS preparations. All LPS preparations reacted in an enzyme-linked, immunosorbent assay (ELISA) with antisera produced against whole cells of a type strain in the same serogroup as the strain from which the LPS was extracted. Several cross-reactions among strains that previously were observed in immunodiffusion tests with whole-cell preparations were also observed in ELISA with purified LPS. Some of the LPS preparations also reacted in immunodiffusion with a precipitin line of identity with whole-cell preparations. The results indicate that E. carotovora serogroups probably are based on the LPS 0-antigen.