The structure of the polysaccharide O-chain of the LPS from Acinetobacter baumannii strain ATCC 17961

The gram-negative bacterium Acinetobacter baumannii strain ATCC17961 has been used by several laboratories in mouse models of respiratory A. baumannii infection, and a study of the role of its lipopolysaccharide in the pathogenicity is of interest. The structure of the O-deacylated polysaccharide O-chain component of its LPS has been determined by 2D NMR spectroscopy and mass spectrometry methods, and by the structural identification of oligosaccharides obtained by sequential application of the Smith degradation of the O-antigen. The O-chain was determined to be a polymer of a branched pentasaccharide repeating unit composed of 2,3-diacetamido-2,3-dideoxy-d-glucuronic acid, 2-acetamido-2-deoxy-d-glucose, 2-acetamido-2-deoxy-d-galactose, d-glucose, and d-galactose, and has the following structure:

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