Olga G. Ovchinnikova

O-antigens of bacteria of the genus Providencia: Structure, serology, genetics, and biosynthesis

The genus Providencia consists of eight species of opportunistic pathogenic enterobacteria that can cause enteric diseases and urinary tract infections. The existing combined serological classification scheme of three species, P. alcalifaciens, P. stuartii, and P. rustigianii, is based on the specificity of O-antigens (O-polysaccharides) and comprises 63 O-serogroups. Differences between serogroups are related to polymorphism at a specific genome locus, the O-antigen gene cluster, responsible for O-antigen biosynthesis. This review presents data on structures of 36 O-antigens of Providencia, many of which contain unusual monosaccharides and non-carbohydrate components. The structural data correlate with the immunospecificity of the O-antigens and enable substantiation on a molecular level of serological relationships within the genus Providencia and between strains of Providencia and bacteria of the genera Proteus, Escherichia, and Salmonella. Peculiar features of the O-antigen gene cluster organization in 10 Providencia serogroups and biosynthetic pathways of nucleotide precursors of specific monosaccharide components of the O-antigens also are discussed.

Localization and molecular characterization of putative O antigen gene clusters of Providencia species.

Enterobacteria of the genus Providencia are opportunistic human pathogens associated with urinary tract and wound infections, as well as enteric diseases. The lipopolysaccharide (LPS) O antigen confers major antigenic variability upon the cell surface and is used for serotyping of Gram-negative bacteria. Recently, Providencia O antigen structures have been extensively studied, but no data on the location and organization of the O antigen gene cluster have been reported. In this study, the four Providencia genome sequences available were analysed, and the putative O antigen gene cluster was identified in the polymorphic locus between the cpxA and yibK genes. This finding provided the necessary information for designing primers, and cloning and sequencing the O antigen gene clusters from five more Providencia alcalifaciens strains. The gene functions predicted in silico were in agreement with the known O antigen structures; furthermore, annotation of the genes involved in the three-step synthesis of GDP-colitose (gmd, colD and colC) was supported by cloning and biochemical characterization of the corresponding enzymes. In one strain (P. alcalifaciens O39), no polysaccharide product of the gene cluster in the cpxA-yibK locus was found, and hence genes for synthesis of the existing O antigen are located elsewhere in the genome. In addition to the putative O antigen synthesis genes, homologues of wza, wzb, wzc and (in three strains) wzi, required for the surface expression of capsular polysaccharides, were found upstream of yibK in all species except Providencia rustigianii, suggesting that the LPS of these species may be attributed to the so-called K LPS (K(LPS)). The data obtained open a way for development of a PCR-based typing method for identification of Providencia isolates.

Full Structure of the Carbohydrate Chain of the Lipopolysaccharide of Providencia rustigianii O34

A lipopolysaccharide isolated from an opportunistic pathogen of the Enterobacteriaceae family Providencia rustigianii O34 was found to be a mixture of R-, SR-, and S-forms consisting of a lipid moiety (lipid A) that bears a core oligosaccharide, a core with one O-polysaccharide repeating unit attached, and a long-chain O-polysaccharide, respectively. The corresponding carbohydrate moieties were released from the lipopolysaccharide by mild acid hydrolysis and studied by sugar and methylation analyses along with one- and two-dimensional NMR spectroscopy and high-resolution electrospray ionization mass spectrometry. As a result, the structures of the core and the O-polysaccharide were established, including the structure of the biological repeating unit (an oligosaccharide that is preassembled and polymerized in biosynthesis of the O-polysaccharide), as well as the mode of the linkage between the O-polysaccharide and the core. Combining the structure of the carbohydrate moiety thus determined and the known structure of lipid A enabled determination of the full lipopolysaccharide structure of P. rustigianii O34.

Variations in O-Antigen Biosynthesis and O-Acetylation Associated with Altered Phage Sensitivity in Escherichia coli 4s

The O polysaccharide of the lipopolysaccharide (O antigen) of Gram-negative bacteria often serves as a receptor for bacteriophages that can make the phage dependent on a given O-antigen type, thus supporting the concept of the adaptive significance of the O-antigen variability in bacteria. The O-antigen layer also modulates interactions of many bacteriophages with their hosts, limiting the access of the viruses to other cell surface receptors. Here we report variations of O-antigen synthesis and structure in an environmental Escherichia coli isolate, 4s, obtained from horse feces, and its mutants selected for resistance to bacteriophage G7C, isolated from the same fecal sample. The 4s O antigen was found to be serologically, structurally, and genetically related to the O antigen of E. coli O22, differing only in side-chain α-D-glucosylation in the former, mediated by a gtr locus on the chromosome. Spontaneous mutations of E. coli 4s occurring with an unusually high frequency affected either O-antigen synthesis or O-acetylation due to the inactivation of the gene encoding the putative glycosyltransferase WclH or the putative acetyltransferase WclK, respectively, by the insertion of IS1-like elements. These mutations induced resistance to bacteriophage G7C and also modified interactions of E. coli 4s with several other bacteriophages conferring either resistance or sensitivity to the host. These findings suggest that O-antigen synthesis and O-acetylation can both ensure the specific recognition of the O-antigen receptor following infection by some phages and provide protection of the host cells against attack by other phages.

Elucidation of the full O-polysaccharide structure and identification of the core type of the lipopolysaccharide of Providencia alcalifaciens O9.

Opportunistic human pathogens of the genus Providencia from the family Enterobacteriaceae are serotyped by their O-antigens, which represent the O-polysaccharide chains of the lipopolysaccharides (LPSs) on the cell surface. In this work, the O-polysaccharide of Providencia alcalifaciens O9 was obtained by mild acid degradation of a long-chain S-form LPS. The structure of the hexasaccharide repeat (O-unit) of the O-polysaccharide containing one D-Gal, two D-Glc, and three D-GalNAc residues was established by sugar and methylation analyses along with one- and two-dimensional (1)H and (13)C NMR spectroscopy. Another degradation product was derived from a short-chain SR-form LPS and found to consist of a core oligosaccharide bearing one O-unit. Its studies by NMR spectroscopy and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry enabled identification of one of the GalNAc residues as the first monosaccharide of the O-unit, whose glycosidic linkage links the O-units to each other and the first O-unit to the core. The core is distinguished by the occurrence of two glycoforms differing in the nature of a lateral monosaccharide, which is either D-Glc or D-GlcNAc. Although composed of common monosaccharides, the O-polysaccharide of P. alcalifaciens O9 has a unique structure among bacterial polysaccharides, whereas the oligosaccharide region belongs to one of several core types recognized in the LPSs of Providencia.

Classification of a Proteus penneri clinical isolate with a unique O-antigen structure to a new Proteus serogroup, O80

Proteus penneri is an opportunistic pathogen, which may cause severe diseases, most frequently urinary tract infections in immunocompromised patients. P. penneri Br 114 exhibiting a good swarming growth ability as an S-form strain was isolated from a wound of a patient in Łódź, Poland. Serological studies using ELISA and Western blotting and chemical analyses along with (1)H and (13)C NMR spectroscopy showed that the O-antigen (O-polysaccharide) of this strain is unique among the known Proteus serotypes O1-O79. It possesses a linear pentasaccharide repeating unit containing a partially O-acetylated amide of D-glucuronic acid (GlcA) with L-serine having the following structure: [structure: see text]. These data are a basis for creating a new Proteus serogroup, O80, so far represented by the single Br 114 isolate. The O80 is the 21st O-serogroup containing P. penneri strains and the fourth serogroup based on Proteus spp. clinical isolates from Łódź, Poland.

Host and non-host plant response to bacterial wilt in potato: role of the lipopolysaccharide isolated from Ralstonia solanacearum and molecular analysis of plant-pathogen interaction.

Ralstonia solanacearum is one of the most devastating phytopathogenic bacteria, in particular its race 3. This microorganism is the causal agent of destructive diseases of different crops including tomato and potato. An important aspect of the interaction between this pathogen, and the host and non‐host plants was its biochemical and molecular basis. Thus, the lipopolysaccharides (LPS) were extracted from the R. solanacearum cell wall, purified, and the O‐specific polysaccharide (OPS) was isolated and chemically characterized by compositional analyses and NMR spectroscopy. The OPS was constituted of two linear polymers of an approximate ratio of 3 : 1, both of which were built up from three rhamnose and one N‐acetylglucosamine residues and differed only in the substitution of one rhamnose residue. The LPS inhibited the hypersensitivity reaction (HR) in non‐host tobacco plants and induced localized resistance in host potato plants, both of which were pre‐treated with the LPS before being inoculated with the pathogen. A cDNA‐AFLP approach was used to study transcriptome variation during the resistant and susceptible interactions. This revealed the presence of metabolites specifically expressed in the S. commersonii‐resistant genotypes, which could be involved in the plant–pathogen incompatible reaction. Furthermore, a specific EST collection of the Ralstonia–potato interaction has been built up.

Genetic analysis of the O-antigen of Providencia alcalifaciens O30 and biochemical characterization of a formyltransferase involved in the synthesis of a Qui4N derivative

O-Antigen is a component of the outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria and one of the most variable cell surface constituents, giving rise to major antigenic variability. The diversity of O-antigen is almost entirely attributed to genetic variations in O-antigen gene clusters. Bacteria of the genus Providencia are facultative pathogens, which can cause urinary tract infections, wound infections and enteric diseases. Recently, the O-antigen gene cluster of Providencia was localized between the cpxA and yibK genes in the genome. However, few genes involved in the synthesis of Providencia O-antigens have been functionally identified. In this study, the putative O-antigen gene cluster of Providencia alcalifaciens O30 was sequenced and analyzed. Almost all putative genes for the O-antigen synthesis were found, including a novel formyltransferase gene vioF that was proposed to be responsible for the conversion of dTDP-4-amino-4,6- dideoxy-D-glucose (dTDP-D-Qui4N) to dTDP-4,6-dideoxy-4-formamido-D-glucose (dTDP-D-Qui4NFo). vioF was cloned, and the enzyme product was expressed as a His-tagged fusion protein, purified and assayed for its activity. High-performance liquid chromatography was used to monitor the enzyme-substrate reaction, and the structure of the product dTDP-D-Qui4NFo was established by electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Kinetic parameters of VioF were determined, and effects of temperature and cations on its activity were also examined. Together, the functional analyses support the identification of the O-antigen gene cluster of P. alcalifaciens O30.

Structure of the O-polysaccharide from the lipopolysaccharide of Providencia alcalifaciens O28

An O-polysaccharide and oligosaccharides were isolated by GPC following mild acid degradation of the lipopolysaccharide of Providencia alcalifaciens O28. The O-polysaccharide was studied by sugar and methylation analyses, (1)H and (13)C NMR spectroscopy, including 2D ROESY and H-detected (1)H,(13)C HSQC and HMBC experiments, and the following structure of the branched pentasaccharide repeating unit was established: [see formula in text]. This structure was confirmed by ESI MS of the isolated tridecasaccharide consisting of the lipopolysaccharide core and one O-polysaccharide repeat. The ESI mass spectrum also enabled inferring the composition of the core oligosaccharide.

N-(1-Carboxyethyl)alanine (alanopine), a new non-sugar component of lipopolysaccharides of Providencia and Proteus

O-Polysaccharides were released by mild acid degradation of lipopolysaccharides of Providencia alcalifaciens O35 and Proteus vulgaris O76 and were studied by 1D and 2D (1)H and (13)C NMR spectroscopies, including HMBC and NOESY (ROESY) experiments. Both polysaccharides were found to contain N-(1-carboxyethyl)alanine (alanopine) that is N-linked to 4-amino-4,6-dideoxyglucose. Analysis of published data [Vinogradov, E.; Perry, M. B. Eur. J. Biochem.2000, 267, 2439-2446] shows that alanopine is present also on the same sugar in the lipopolysaccharide core of Proteus mirabilis O6 and O57.