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Genetic Analysis of Lipooligosaccharide Core Biosynthesis in Campylobacter jejuni 81-176

Department of Chemistry, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, Greensboro, North Carolina 27411,¹ Department of Chemistry, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario N1G 2W1, Canada,² National Research Council, Ottawa, Ontario K4A 4G5, Canada,³ Enteric Diseases Department, Naval Medical Research Center, Silver Spring, Maryland 20910⁴

Received 22 October 2007/ Accepted 11 December 2007

We report isolation and characterization of Campylobacter jejuni 81-176 lgtF and galT lipooligosaccharide (LOS) core mutants. It has been suggested that the lgtF gene of C. jejuni encodes a two-domain glucosyltransferase that is responsible for the transfer of a β-1,4-glucose residue on heptosyltransferase I (Hep I) and for the transfer of a β-1,2-glucose residue on Hep II. A site-specific mutation in the lgtF gene of C. jejuni 81-176 resulted in expression of a truncated LOS, and complementation of the mutant in trans restored the core mobility to that of the wild type. Mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance of the truncated LOS confirmed the loss of two glucose residues, a β-1,4-glucose on Hep I and a β-1,2-glucose on Hep II. Mutation of another gene, galT, encoding a glycosyltransferase, which maps outside the region defined as the LOS biosynthetic locus in C. jejuni 81-176, resulted in loss of the β-(1,4)-galactose residue and all distal residues in the core. Both mutants invaded intestinal epithelial cells in vitro at levels comparable to the wild-type levels, in marked contrast to a deeper inner core waaC mutant. These studies have important implications for the role of LOS in the pathogenesis of Campylobacter-mediated infection.

Published ahead of print on 21 December 2007.