J. Bacteriol., 05 1996, 2727-2733, Vol 178, No. 10
Copyright © 1996, American Society for Microbiology

Isolation of monoclonal antibodies reacting with the core component of lipopolysaccharide from Rhizobium leguminosarum strain 3841 and mutant derivatives

MM Lucas, JL Peart, NJ Brewin and EL Kannenberg
John Innes Centre, Norwich NR4 7UH, Great Britain.

Monoclonal antibodies reacting with the core oligosaccharide or lipid A component of Rhizobium lipopolysaccharide (LPS) could be useful for the elucidation of the structure and biosynthesis of this group of macromolecules. Mutant derivatives of Rhizobium leguminosarum 3841 with LPS structures lacking the major O-antigen moiety were used as immunogens, and eight antibodies were selected for further study. All the antibodies reacted with the fast-migrating species known as LPS-2 following gel electrophoresis of Rhizobium cell extracts. For four of these antibodies, reactivity with affinity-purified LPS was lost after mild acid hydrolysis, indicating that they probably recognized the core oligosaccharide component. The four other antibodies still reacted with acid-treated LPS and may recognize the lipid A moiety, which is stable to mild acid hydrolysis. The pattern of antibody staining after gel electrophoresis revealed differences in LPS-2 epitope structure between each of the mutants and the wild type. Furthermore, for each of the mutants the antibodies crossreacted with a minor band that migrated more slowly than LPS-2; we have termed this more slowly migrating form LPS-3. The majority of the antibodies also reacted with LPS from strain CE109, a derivative of Rhizobium etli CE3, confirming that the LPS core antigens can be relatively conserved between strains of different Rhizobium species. One of the antibodies isolated in this study (JIM 32) was unusual because it appeared to react with all forms of LPS from strain 3841 (namely, LPS-1, LPS-2, and LPS-3). Furthermore, JIM 32 reacted positively with the LPS from many strains of Rhizobium tested (excluding the Rhizobium meliloti subgroup). JIM 32 did not react with representative strains from Bradyrhizobium, Azorhizobium or other related bacterial species.

This article has been cited by other articles:

• Buendia-Claveria, A. M., Moussaid, A., Ollero, F. J., Vinardell, J. M., Torres, A., Moreno, J., Gil-Serrano, A. M., Rodriguez-Carvajal, M. A., Tejero-Mateo, P., Peart, J. L., Brewin, N. J., Ruiz-Sainz, J. E. (2003). A purL mutant of Sinorhizobium fredii HH103 is symbiotically defective and altered in its lipopolysaccharide. Microbiology 149: 1807-1818 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Zorreguieta, A., Finnie, C., Downie, J. A. (2000). Extracellular Glycanases of Rhizobium leguminosarum Are Activated on the Cell Surface by an Exopolysaccharide-Related Component. J. Bacteriol. 182: 1304-1312 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Lerouge, I., Laeremans, T., Verreth, C., Vanderleyden, J., Van Soom, C., Tobin, A., Carlson, R. W. (2001). Identification of an ATP-binding Cassette Transporter for Export of the O-antigen across the Inner Membrane in Rhizobium etli Based on the Genetic, Functional, and Structural Analysis of an lps Mutant Deficient in O-antigen. J. Biol. Chem. 276: 17190-17198 [Abstract] [Full Text]