Heterogeneity of Lipopolysaccharides. Analysis of Polysaccharide Chain Lengths by Sodium Dodecylsulfate‐Polyacrylamide Gel Electrophoresis

Abstract

Lipopolysaccharide preparations from R (rough) Escherichia coliO8‐, SR (semirough) Salmonella typhimurium and S (smooth) strains E. coli O8 and Citrobacter 396 were disintegrated with sodium dodecylsulfate and subjected to polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in the presence of 1 % sodium dodecylsulfate. The results obtained were compared with those obtained from the same lipopolysaccharide preparations by degradation analysis. In dodecylsulfate gel electrophoresis the lipopolysaccharide preparation from the E. coli R mutant and the S. typhimurium SR mutant showed one band each (R‐ and SR‐ band, respectively) with different electrophoretic mobilities. The lipopolysaccharide preparation from the E. coli O8‐strain exhibited two bands, one of which had the same electrophoretic mobility as the R‐band and the other was identified as S‐band. The lipopolysaccharide preparation from the Citrobacter 396 S‐strain exhibited four bands: one R‐band, one SR‐band and two S‐bands. The results showed that wild‐type S strains contain more than one type of lipopolysaccharide. They differ in the length of their O‐specific polysaccharide chains. The lipid A content of the different lipopolysaccharide was expressed in their electrophoretic mobilities. Copyright © 1975, Wiley Blackwell. All rights reserved