Ludmila I. Evtushenko

Cell wall anionic polymers of Streptomyces sp. MB-8, the causative agent of potato scab

The cell wall of Streptomyces sp. MB-8 contains a major teichoic acid, viz., 1,3-poly(glycerol phosphate) substituted with N-acetyl-alpha-D-glucosamine (the degree of substitution is 60%), a minor teichoic acid, viz., non-substituted poly(glycerol phosphate), and a family of Kdn (3-deoxy-D-glycero-D-galacto-non-2-ulopyranosonic acid)-containing oligomers of the following general structure: [carbohydrate structure: see text]. The composition of the oligomers was established using MALDI-TOF mass spectroscopy. The present study provides the second example of the identification of Kdn as a component of cell wall polymers of streptomycetes, which are the causative agents of potato scab.

Novel teichulosonic acid from cell wall of Streptomyces coelicolor M145

The cell wall of Streptomyces coelicolor M145, a prototrophic plasmidless (SCP1(-) SCP2(-)) variant of strain S. coelicolor A3(2) contains the main glycopolymer represented by Kdn-containing teichulosonic acid with unusual structure which has not been described so far: [structure: see text]. The minor polymer was found to be a poly(diglycosyl 1-phosphate) with the following repeating unit: -6)-α-Galp-(1→6)-α-GlcpNAc-(1-P-. The structures of both glycopolymers were established by using a combination of chemical and NMR spectroscopic methods.

Thalassospira permensis sp. nov., a new terrestrial halotolerant bacterium isolated from a naphthalene-utilizing microbial consortium

A halotolerant bacterium, strain SMB34T, was isolated from a naphthalene-utilizing bacterial consortium obtained from primitive technogeneous soil (Verkhnekamsk salt deposit, Perm region, Russia) by enrichment procedure. The strain itself was unable to degrade naphthalene and grew at NaCl concentrations up to 11% (w/v). The 16S rRNA-based phylogenetic analysis showed that the strain belongs to the genus Thalassospira. The DNA-DNA hybridization values between SMB34T and the type strains of phylogeneti-cally closest species (T. xiamenensis, T. profundimaris and T. tepidiphila) did not exceed 50%. The novel strain could be distinguished from the above species by the cell motility, MALDI/TOF mass spectra of whole cells and a range of physiological and biochemical characteristics. SMB34T also considerably differs from the recently described species T. xianhensis, with the most striking differences in the DNA G + C content (53. ± 1.0 vs. 61.2 ± 1.0 mol %) and predominant ubiquinones (Q-10 vs. Q-9). The data obtained suggest strain SMB34T (=VKM B-2527T = NBRC 106175T), designated as the type strain, represents a novel species, named Thalassospira permensis sp. nov.

New cell wall glycopolymers of the representatives of the genus Kribbella

Each of the cell walls of four representatives of the genus Kribbella (order Actinomycetales; suborder Propionibacterineae; family Nocardioidaceae) contains a neutral polysaccharide and an acidic polysaccharide with unusual structures. Common to all four strains studied is a mannan with the following repeating unit: [structure: see text]. In the cell wall of the strain VKM Ac-2541, a teichulosonic acid was identified with a monosaccharide component that has not hitherto been found in Gram-positive bacteria, viz., pseudaminic acid, and an unusual linkage type in the polymeric chain, [structure: see text] where R=capital EN, Cyrillic (45%), alpha-D-Galp3OMe (37%) or alpha-D-Galp2,3OMe (18%). The anionic cell wall components of three other strains are represented by teichuronic acids with a rare constituent, viz., a diaminosugar, 2,3-diacetamido-2,3-dideoxyglucopyranose. The structures of their repeating units differ in the nature of the acidic components: -->4)-beta-D-Manp2,3NAcA-(1-->6)-alpha-D-Glcp2,3NAc-(1--> (VKM capital A, Cyrillicsmall es, Cyrillic-2538 and VKM capital A, Cyrillicsmall es, Cyrillic-2540) and -->4)-beta-D-ManpNAcA-(1-->6)-alpha-D-Glcp2,3NAc-(1--> (VKM capital A, Cyrillicsmall es, Cyrillic-2539). The structures of all the glycopolymers were established by chemical and NMR spectroscopic methods; they are identified in Gram-positive bacteria for the first time.

Novel cell-wall teichoic acid from Nocardiopsis albus subsp. albus as a species-specific marker

Cell walls of the three Nocardiopsis albus subsp. albus strains, DSM 43377T, 43378 and 43120 contain structurally identical teichoic acids. The cell wall of each strain has three distinct types of teichoic acids: (1) unsubstituted 3,5-poly(ribitol phosphate), (2) 1,3-poly(glycerol phosphate) partially substituted at C-2 with α-N-acetylglucosamine residues, and (3) 1,5-poly(ribitol phosphate) with each ribitol unit carrying a 2,4-pyruvate ketal group. Types 1 and 3 are reported in prokaryotes for the first time. The structure of the teichoic acids was elucidated by chemical analysis and NMR-spectroscopic methods. Structural identity of the teichoic acids from the three strains belonging to the same species may demonstrate the species-specificity of these polymers.

New structures and composition of cell wall teichoic acids from Nocardiopsis synnemataformans , Nocardiopsis halotolerans , Nocardiopsis composta and Nocardiopsis metallicus : a chemotaxonomic value

The structures of the cell wall teichoic acids (TA) from some species of the genus Nocardiopsis were established by chemical and NMR spectroscopic methods. The cell walls of Nocardiopsis synnemataformans VKM Ac-2518T and Nocardiopsis halotolerans VKM Ac-2519T both contain two TA with unique structures—poly(polyol phosphate-glycosylpolyol phosphate)—belonging to the type IV TA. In both organisms, the minor TA have identical structures: poly(glycerol phosphate-N-acetyl-β-galactosaminylglycerol phosphate) with the phosphodiester bond between C-3 of glycerol and C-4 of the amino sugar. This structure is found for the first time. The major TA of N. halotolerans has a hitherto unknown structure: poly(glycerol phosphate-N-acetyl-β-galactosaminylglycerol phosphate), the N-acetyl-β-galactosamine being acetalated with pyruvic acid at positions 4 and 6. The major TA of N. synnemataformans is a poly(glycerol phosphate-N-acetyl-β-galactosaminylglycerol phosphate) with the phosphodiester bond between C-3 of glycerol and C-3 of the amino sugar. The cell walls of Nocardiopsis composta VKM Ac-2520 and N. composta VKM Ac-2521T contain only one TA, namely 1,3-poly(glycerol phosphate) partially substituted with N-acetyl-α-glucosamine. The cell wall of Nocardiopsis metallicus VKM Ac-2522T contains two TA. The major TA is 1,5-poly(ribitol phosphate), each ribitol unit carrying a pyruvate ketal group at positions 2 and 4. The structure of the minor TA is the same as that of N. composta. The results presented correlate well with the phylogenetic grouping of strains and confirm the species and strain specific features of cell wall TA in members of the genus Nocardiopsis.

A novel teichuronic acid, the major polymer from the cell wall of Actinoplanes lobatus VKM Ac-676T

The cell wall of Actinoplanes lobatus VKM Ac-676(T) (family Micromonosporaceae; order Actinomycetales; class Actinobacteria) contains two anionic glycopolymers. The major one is a teichuronic acid with a linear structure of the chain and heterogeneous repeating units, consisting of glucopyranose residues and statistically alternating residues of diaminouronic acids having the d-manno,l-gulo and d-gluco configurations in a ratio of 6:3:1, respectively. The teichuronic acid of this structure has not hitherto been found in Gram-positive bacteria. The minor glycopolymer is a teichoic acid of poly(glycosylpolyol phosphate) nature with the repeating unit -6)-[α-d-Manp(1→4)]-β-d-Galp-(1→2)-snGro-(3-P-. The structures of the glycopolymers were established by chemical methods and NMR spectroscopy.