The Lipopolysaccharide Lipid A Long-Chain Fatty Acid Is Important for Rhizobium leguminosarum Growth and Stress Adaptation in Free-Living and Nodule Environments

Rhizobium bacteria live in soil and plant environments, are capable of inducing symbiotic nodules on legumes, invade these nodules, and develop into bacteroids that fix atmospheric nitrogen into ammonia. Rhizobial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) is anchored in the bacterial outer membrane through a specialized lipid A containing a very long-chain fatty acid (VLCFA). VLCFA function for rhizobial growth in soil and plant environments is not well understood. Two genes, acpXL and lpxXL, encoding acyl carrier protein and acyltransferase, are among the six genes required for biosynthesis and transfer of VLCFA to lipid A. Rhizobium leguminosarum mutant strains acpXL, acpXL-/lpxXL-, and lpxXL- were examined for LPS structure, viability, and symbiosis. Mutations in acpXL and lpxXL abolished VLCFA attachment to lipid A. The acpXL mutant transferred a shorter acyl chain instead of VLCFA. Strains without lpxXL neither added VLCFA nor a shorter acyl chain. In all strains isolated from nodule bacteria, lipid A had longer acyl chains compared with laboratory-cultured bacteria, whereas mutant strains displayed altered membrane properties, modified cationic peptide sensitivity, and diminished levels of cyclic β-glucans. In pea nodules, mutant bacteroids were atypically formed and nitrogen fixation and senescence were affected. The role of VLCFA for rhizobial environmental fitness is discussed.

The secondary cell wall polysaccharide of Bacillus anthracis provides the specific binding ligand for the C-terminal cell wall-binding domain of two phage endolysins, PlyL and PlyG

Endolysins are bacteriophage enzymes that lyse their bacterial host for phage progeny release. They commonly contain an N-terminal catalytic domain that hydrolyzes bacterial peptidoglycan (PG) and a C-terminal cell wall-binding domain (CBD) that confers enzyme localization to the PG substrate. Two endolysins, phage lysin L (PlyL) and phage lysin G (PlyG), are specific for Bacillus anthracis. To date, the cell wall ligands for their C-terminal CBD have not been identified. We recently described structures for a number of secondary cell wall polysaccharides (SCWPs) from B. anthracis and B. cereus strains. They are covalently bound to the PG and are comprised of a -ManNAc-GlcNAc-HexNAc- backbone with various galactosyl or glucosyl substitutions. Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) showed that the endolysins PlyL and PlyG bind to the SCWP from B. anthracis (SCWPBa) with high affinity (i.e. in the μM range with dissociation constants ranging from 0.81 × 10(-6) to 7.51 × 10(-6) M). In addition, the PlyL and PlyG SCWPBa binding sites reside with their C-terminal domains. The dissociation constants for the interactions of these endolysins and their derived C-terminal domains with the SCWPBa were in the range reported for other protein-carbohydrate interactions. Our findings show that the SCWPBa is the ligand that confers PlyL and PlyG lysin binding and localization to the PG. PlyL and PlyG also bound the SCWP from B. cereus G9241 with comparable affinities to SCWPBa. No detectable binding was found to the SCWPs from B. cereus ATCC (American Type Culture Collection) 10987 and ATCC 14579, thus demonstrating specificity of lysin binding to SCWPs.

Localization and structural analysis of a conserved pyruvylated epitope in Bacillus anthracis secondary cell wall polysaccharides and characterization of the galactose-deficient wall polysaccharide from avirulent B. anthracis CDC 684

Bacillus anthracis CDC 684 is a naturally occurring, avirulent variant and close relative of the highly pathogenic B. anthracis Vollum. Bacillus anthracis CDC 684 contains both virulence plasmids, pXO1 and pXO2, yet is non-pathogenic in animal models, prompting closer scrutiny of the molecular basis of attenuation. We structurally characterized the secondary cell wall polysaccharide (SCWP) of B. anthracis CDC 684 (Ba684) using chemical and NMR spectroscopy analysis. The SCWP consists of a HexNAc trisaccharide backbone having identical structure as that of B. anthracis Pasteur, Sterne and Ames, →4)-β-d-ManpNAc-(1 → 4)-β-d-GlcpNAc-(1 → 6)-α-d-GlcpNAc-(1→. Remarkably, although the backbone is fully polymerized, the SCWP is the devoid of all galactosyl side residues, a feature which normally comprises 50% of the glycosyl residues on the highly galactosylated SCWPs from pathogenic strains. This observation highlights the role of defective wall assembly in virulence and indicates that polymerization occurs independently of galactose side residue attachment. Of particular interest, the polymerized Ba684 backbone retains the substoichiometric pyruvate acetal, O-acetate and amino group modifications found on SCWPs from normal B. anthracis strains, and immunofluorescence analysis confirms that SCWP expression coincides with the ability to bind the surface layer homology (SLH) domain containing S-layer protein extractable antigen-1. Pyruvate was previously demonstrated as part of a conserved epitope, mediating SLH-domain protein attachment to the underlying peptidoglycan layer. We find that a single repeating unit, located at the distal (non-reducing) end of the Ba684 SCWP, is structurally modified and that this modification is present in identical manner in the SCWPs of normal B. anthracis strains. These polysaccharides terminate in the sequence: (S)-4,6-O-(1-carboxyethylidene)-β-d-ManpNAc-(1 → 4)-[3-O-acetyl]-β-d-GlcpNAc-(1 → 6)-α-d-GlcpNH(2)-(1→.

Characterization of galacturonosyl transferase genes rgtA, rgtB, rgtC, rgtD, and rgtE responsible for lipopolysaccharide synthesis in nitrogen-fixing endosymbiont Rhizobium leguminosarum: lipopolysaccharide core and lipid galacturonosyl residues confer membrane stability

Rhizobium lipopolysaccharide (LPS) contains four terminally linked galacturonic acid (GalA) residues; one attached to the lipid A and three attached to the core oligosaccharide moiety. Attachment of the GalA residues requires the lipid donor dodecaprenyl-phosphate GalA (Dod-P-GalA), which is synthesized by the GalA transferase RgtE reported here. The galacturonosyl transferases RgtA, -B, and -C utilize Dod-P-GalA to attach GalAs on the LPS core region, and RgtD attaches GalA to the lipid A 4' position. As reported here, the functions of the rgtD and rgtE genes were determined via insertion mutagenesis and structural characterization of the mutant lipid A. The rgtE(-) mutant lacked Dod-P-GalA as determined by mass spectrometry of total lipid extracts and the inability of rgtE(-) mutant membranes to provide the substrate for heterologously expressed RgtA activity. In addition, we created single mutations in each of the rgtA, -B, -C, -D, and -E genes to study the biological function of the GalA residues. The structures of the core oligosaccharide region from each of the rgt mutants were elucidated by glycosyl linkage analysis. Each mutant was assayed for its sensitivity to sodium deoxycholate and to the antimicrobial cationic peptide, polymyxin B (PmxB). The rgt mutants were more sensitive than the parent strain to deoxycholate by varying degrees. However, the rgtA, -B, and -C mutants were more resistant to PmxB, whereas the rgtD and E mutants were less resistant in comparison to the parent strain.

An acpXL mutant of Rhizobium leguminosarum bv. phaseoli lacks 27-hydroxyoctacosanoic acid in its lipid A and is developmentally delayed during symbiotic infection of the determinate nodulating host plant Phaseolus vulgaris

Rhizobium leguminosarum is a Gram-negative bacterium that forms nitrogen-fixing symbioses with compatible leguminous plants via intracellular invasion and establishes a persistent infection within host membrane-derived subcellular compartments. Notably, an unusual very-long-chain fatty acid (VLCFA) is found in the lipid A of R. leguminosarum as well as in the lipid A of the medically relevant pathogens Brucella abortus, Brucella melitensis, Bartonella henselae, and Legionella pneumophila, which are also able to persist within intracellular host-derived membranes. These bacterial symbionts and pathogens each contain a homologous gene region necessary for the synthesis and transfer of the VLCFA to the lipid A. Within this region lies a gene that encodes the specialized acyl carrier protein AcpXL, on which the VLCFA is built. This study describes the biochemical and infection phenotypes of an acpXL mutant which lacks the VLCFA. The mutation was created in R. leguminosarum bv. phaseoli strain 8002, which forms symbiosis with Phaseolus vulgaris, a determinate nodulating legume. Structural analysis using gas chromatography and mass spectrometry revealed that the mutant lipid A lacked the VLCFA. Compared to the parent strain, the mutant was more sensitive to the detergents deoxycholate and dodecyl sulfate and the antimicrobial peptide polymyxin B, suggesting a compromise to membrane stability. In addition, the mutant was more sensitive to higher salt concentrations. Passage through the plant restored salt tolerance. Electron microscopic examination showed that the mutant was developmentally delayed during symbiotic infection of the host plant Phaseolus vulgaris and produced abnormal symbiosome structures.

Secondary cell wall polysaccharides from Bacillus cereus strains G9241, 03BB87 and 03BB102 causing fatal pneumonia share similar glycosyl structures with the polysaccharides from Bacillus anthracis

Secondary cell wall polysaccharides (SCWPs) are important structural components of the Bacillus cell wall and contribute to the array of antigens presented by these organisms in both spore and vegetative forms. We previously found that antisera raised to Bacillus anthracis spore preparations cross-reacted with SCWPs isolated from several strains of pathogenic B. cereus, but did not react with other phylogenetically related but nonpathogenic Bacilli, suggesting that the SCWP from B. anthracis and pathogenic B. cereus strains share specific structural features. In this study, SCWPs from three strains of B. cereus causing severe or fatal pneumonia (G9241, 03BB87 and 03BB102) were isolated and subjected to structural analysis and their structures were compared to SCWPs from B. anthracis. Complete structural analysis was performed for the B. cereus G9241 SCWP using NMR spectroscopy, mass spectrometry and derivatization methods. The analyses show that SCWPs from B. cereus G9241 has a glycosyl backbone identical to that of B. anthracis SCWP, consisting of multiple trisaccharide repeats of: →6)-α-d-GlcpNAc-(1 → 4)-β-d-ManpNAc-(1 → 4)-β-d-GlcpNAc-(1→. Both the B. anthracis and pathogenic B. cereus SCWPs are highly substituted at all GlcNAc residues with α- and β-Gal residues, however, only the SCWPs from B. cereus G9241 and 03BB87 carry an additional α-Gal substitution at O-3 of ManNAc residues, a feature lacking in the B. anthracis SCWPs. Both the B. anthracis and B. cereus SCWPs are pyruvylated, with an approximate molecular mass of ≈12,000 Da. The implications of these findings regarding pathogenicity and cell wall structure are discussed.

Secondary cell wall polysaccharides of Bacillus anthracis are antigens that contain specific epitopes which cross-react with three pathogenic Bacillus cereus strains that caused severe disease, and other epitopes common to all the Bacillus cereus strains tested

The immunoreactivities of hydrogen fluoride (HF)-released cell wall polysaccharides (HF-PSs) from selected Bacillus anthracis and Bacillus cereus strains were compared using antisera against live and killed B. anthracis spores. These antisera bound to the HF-PSs from B. anthracis and from three clinical B. cereus isolates (G9241, 03BB87, and 03BB102) obtained from cases of severe or fatal human pneumonia but did not bind to the HF-PSs from the closely related B. cereus ATCC 10987 or from B. cereus type strain ATCC 14579. Antiserum against a keyhole limpet hemocyanin conjugate of the B. anthracis HF-PS (HF-PS-KLH) also bound to HF-PSs and cell walls from B. anthracis and the three clinical B. cereus isolates, and B. anthracis spores. These results indicate that the B. anthracis HF-PS is an antigen in both B. anthracis cell walls and spores, and that it shares cross-reactive, and possibly pathogenicity-related, epitopes with three clinical B. cereus isolates that caused severe disease. The anti-HF-PS-KLH antiserum cross-reacted with the bovine serum albumin (BSA)-conjugates of all B. anthracis and all B. cereus HF-PSs tested, including those from nonclinical B. cereus ATCC 10987 and ATCC 14579 strains. Finally, the serum of vaccinated (anthrax vaccine adsorbed (AVA)) Rhesus macaques that survived inhalation anthrax contained IgG antibodies that bound the B. anthracis HF-PS-KLH conjugate. These data indicate that HF-PSs from the cell walls of the bacilli tested here are (i) antigens that contain (ii) a potentially virulence-associated carbohydrate antigen motif, and (iii) another antigenic determinant that is common to B. cereus strains.

Rhizobium leguminosarum biovar viciae 3841, deficient in 27-hydroxyoctacosanoate-modified lipopolysaccharide, is impaired in desiccation tolerance, biofilm formation and motility

The lipopolysaccharide (LPS) of the Gram-negative legume symbiont Rhizobium leguminosarum biovar viciae 3,841 contains several unique modifications, including the addition of a 27-hydroxyoctacosanoic acid (27OHC28 : 0), also termed the very long chain fatty acid (VLCFA), attached at the 2' position of lipid A. A transposon mutant that lacks expression of two putative 3-oxo-acyl [acyl-carrier protein] synthase II genes, fabF1 and fabF2, from the VLCFA biosynthetic cluster, was isolated and characterized. MS indicated that the lipid A of the mutant lacked the VLCFA modification, and sodium deoxycholate (DOC)-PAGE of the LPS indicated further structural alterations. The mutant was characteristically sensitive to several stresses that would be experienced in the soil environment, such as desiccation and osmotic stresses. An increase in the excretion of neutral surface polysaccharides was observed in the mutant. This mutant was also altered in its attachment to solid surfaces, and was non-motile, with most of the mutant cells lacking flagella. Despite the pleiotropic effects of the mutation, these mutants were still able to nodulate legumes and fix atmospheric nitrogen. This report emphasizes that a structurally intact VLCFA-containing lipid A is critical to cellular traits that are important for survival in the rhizosphere.

Structural elucidation of the nonclassical secondary cell wall polysaccharide from Bacillus cereus ATCC 10987. Comparison with the polysaccharides from Bacillus anthracis and B. cereus type strain ATCC 14579 reveals both unique and common structural features

Nonclassical secondary cell wall polysaccharides constitute a major cell wall structure in the Bacillus cereus group of bacteria. The structure of the secondary cell wall polysaccharide from Bacillus cereus ATCC 10987, a strain that is closely related to Bacillus anthracis, was determined. This polysaccharide was released from the cell wall with aqueous hydrogen fluoride (HF) and purified by gel filtration chromatography. The purified polysaccharide, HF-PS, was characterized by glycosyl composition and linkage analyses, mass spectrometry, and one- and two-dimensional NMR analysis. The results showed that the B. cereus ATCC 10987 HF-PS has a repeating oligosaccharide consisting of a -->6)-alpha-GalNAc-(1-->4)-beta-ManNAc-(1-->4)-beta-GlcNAc-(1--> trisaccharide that is substituted with beta-Gal at O3 of the alpha-GalNAc residue and nonstoichiometrically acetylated at O3 of the N-acetylmannosamine (ManNAc) residue. Comparison of this structure with that of the B. anthracis HF-PS and with structural data obtained for the HF-PS from B. cereus type strain ATCC 14579 revealed that each HF-PS had the same general structural theme consisting of three HexNAc and one Hex residues. A common structural feature in the HF-PSs from B. cereus ATCC 10987 and B. anthracis was the presence of a repeating unit consisting of a HexNAc(3) trisaccharide backbone in which two of the three HexNAc residues are GlcNAc and ManNAc and the third can be either GlcNAc or GalNAc. The implications of these results with regard to the possible functions of the HF-PSs are discussed.

Chemical synthesis and immunological properties of oligosaccharides derived from the vegetative cell wall of Bacillus anthracis

Bacillus anthracis vaccine candidate : Sera of rabbits exposed to live and irradiated-killed spores of B. anthracis Sterne 34F2 or immunized with B. anthracis polysaccharide conjugated to KLH elicited antibodies that recognize isolated polysaccharide and two synthetic trisaccharides providing a proof-of-concept step in the development of vegetative and spore-specific reagents for detection and targeting of non-protein structures of B. anthracis .

The structure of the major cell wall polysaccharide of Bacillus anthracis is species-specific

In this report we describe the structure of the polysaccharide released from Bacillus anthracis vegetative cell walls by aqueous hydrogen fluoride (HF). This HF-released polysaccharide (HF-PS) was isolated and structurally characterized from the Ames, Sterne, and Pasteur strains of B. anthracis. The HF-PSs were also isolated from the closely related Bacillus cereus ATCC 10987 strain, and from the B. cereus ATCC 14579 type strain and compared with those of B. anthracis. The structure of the B. anthracis HF-PS was determined by glycosyl composition and linkage analyses, matrix-assisted laser desorption-time of flight mass spectrometry, and one- and two-dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The HF-PSs from all of the B. anthracis isolates had an identical structure consisting of an amino sugar backbone of -->6)-alpha-GlcNAc-(1-->4)-beta-ManNAc-(1-->4)-beta-GlcNAc-(1-->, in which the alpha-GlcNAc residue is substituted with alpha-Gal and beta-Gal at O-3 and O-4, respectively, and the beta-GlcNAc substituted with alpha-Gal at O-3. There is some variability in the presence of two of these three Gal substitutions. Comparison with the HF-PSs from B. cereus ATCC 10987 and B. cereus ATCC 14579 showed that the B. anthracis structure was clearly different from each of these HF-PSs and, furthermore, that the B. cereus ATCC 10987 HF-PS structure was different from that of B. cereus ATCC 14579. The presence of a B. anthracis-specific polysaccharide structure in its vegetative cell wall is discussed with regard to its relationship to those of other Bacillus species.

A Rhizobium leguminosarum lipopolysaccharide lipid-A mutant induces nitrogen-fixing nodules with delayed and defective bacteroid formation

Lipopolysaccharides from pea-nodulating strain Rhizobium leguminosarum by. viciae 3841, as all other members of the family Rhizobiaceae with the possible exception of Azorhizobium caulinodans, contains a very long chain fatty acid; 27-hydroxyoctacosanoic acid (27OHC28:0) in its lipid A region. The exact function and importance of this residue, however, is not known. In this work, a previously constructed mutant, Rhizobium leguminosarum by. viciae 22, deficient in the fatty acid residue, was analyzed for its symbiotic phenotype. While the mutant was able to form nitrogen-fixing nodules, a detailed study of the timing and efficiency of nodulation using light and electron microscopy showed that there was a delay in the onset of nodulation and nodule tissue invasion. Further, microscopy showed that the mutant was unable to differentiate normally forming numerous irregularly shaped bacteroids, that the resultant mature bacteroids were unusually large, and that several bacteroids were frequently enclosed in a single symbiosome membrane, a feature not observed with parent bacteroids. In addition, the mutant nodules were delayed in the onset of nitrogenase production and showed reduced nitrogenase throughout the testing period. These results imply that the lack of 27OHC28:0 in the lipid A in mutant bacteroids results in altered membrane properties that are essential for the development of normal bacteroids.

A Rhizobium leguminosarum AcpXL mutant produces lipopolysaccharide lacking 27-hydroxyoctacosanoic acid

The structure of the lipid A from Rhizobium etli and Rhizobium leguminosarum lipopolysaccharides (LPSs) lacks phosphate and contains a galacturonosyl residue at its 4' position, an acylated 2-aminogluconate in place of the proximal glucosamine, and a very long chain omega-1 hydroxy fatty acid, 27-hydroxyoctacosanoic acid (27OHC28:0). The 27OHC28:0 moiety is common in lipid A's among members of the Rhizobiaceae and also among a number of the facultative intracellular pathogens that form chronic infections, e.g., Brucella abortus, Bartonella henselae, and Legionella pneumophila. In this paper, a mutant of R. leguminosarum was created by placing a kanamycin resistance cassette within acpXL, the gene which encodes the acyl carrier protein for 27OHC28:0. The result was an LPS containing a tetraacylated lipid A lacking 27OHC28:0. A small amount of the mutant lipid A may contain an added palmitic acid residue. The mutant is sensitive to changes in osmolarity and an increase in acidity, growth conditions that likely occur in the nodule microenvironment. In spite of the probably hostile microenvironment of the nodule, the acpXL mutant is still able to form nitrogen-fixing root nodules even though the appearance and development of nodules are delayed. Therefore, it is possible that the acpXL mutant has a host-inducible mechanism which enables it to adapt to these physiological changes.

Novel methylated triterpenoids of the gammacerane series from the nitrogen-fixing bacterium Bradyrhizobium japonicum USDA 110

The nitrogen-fixing, symbiotic root-nodule forming bacterium Bradyrhizobium japonicum USDA 110 contained gammacerane derivatives next to triterpenoids of the hopane series. Diploptene, diplopterol, 2 beta-methyldiplopterol, aminobacteriohopanetriol and adenosylhopane were accompanied by tetrahymanol and the corresponding novel methylated homologues 2 beta-methyltetrahymanol, 20 alpha-methyltetrahymanol, and 2 beta,20 alpha-dimethyltetrahymanol. Incorporation of [(2)H(3)]methyl-L-methionine indicated that the additional methyl groups originated from methionine, probably with S-adenosylmethionine acting as methyl donor, with retention of the three deuterium atoms. The simultaneous presence of hopane and gammacerane derivatives seems a characteristic feature of the genus Bradyrhizobium and the phylogenetically closely related Rhodopseudomonas palustris.

Lipid A and O-chain modifications cause Rhizobium lipopolysaccharides to become hydrophobic during bacteroid development

Modifications to the lipopolysaccharide (LPS) structure caused by three different growth conditions were investigated in the pea-nodulating strain Rhizobium leguminosarum 3841. The LPSs extracted by hot phenol-water from cultured cells fractionated into hydrophilic water and/or hydrophobic phenol phases. Most of the LPSs from cells grown under standard conditions extracted into the water phase, but a greater proportion of LPSs were extracted into the phenol phase from cells grown under acidic or reduced-oxygen conditions, or when isolated from root nodules as bacteroids. Compared with the water-extracted LPSs, the phenol-extracted LPSs contained greater degrees of glycosyl methylation and O-acetylation, increased levels of xylose, glucose and mannose and increased amounts of long-chain fatty acids attached to the lipid A moiety. The water- and phenol-phase LPSs also differed in their reactivity with monoclonal antibodies and in their polyacrylamide gel electrophoretic banding patterns. Phenol-extracted LPSs from rhizobia grown under reduced-oxygen conditions closely resembled the bulk of LPSs isolated from pea nodule bacteria (i.e. mainly bacteroids) in their chemical properties, reactivities with monoclonal antibodies and extraction behaviour. This finding suggests that, during symbiotic bacteroid development, reduced oxygen tension induces structural modifications in LPSs that cause a switch from predominantly hydrophilic to predominantly hydrophobic molecular forms. Increased hydrophobicity of LPSs was also positively correlated with an increase in the surface hydrophobicity of whole cells, as shown by the high degree of adhesion to hydrocarbons of bacterial cells isolated from nodules or from cultures grown under low-oxygen conditions. The implications of these LPS modifications are discussed for rhizobial survival and function in different soil and in planta habitats.

Cloning of conserved genes from Zymomonas mobilis and Bradyrhizobium japonicum that function in the biosynthesis of hopanoid lipids

The squalene-hopene cyclase (SHC) is the only enzyme involved in the biosynthesis of hopanoid lipids that has been characterized on the genetic level. To investigate if additional genes involved in hopanoid biosynthesis are clustered with the shc gene, we cloned and analyzed the nucleotide sequences located immediately upstream of the shc genes from Zymomonas mobilis and Bradyrhizobium japonicum. In Z. mobilis, five open reading frames (ORFs, designated as hpnA-E) were detected in a close arrangement with the shc gene. In B. japonicum, three similarly arranged ORFs (corresponding to hpnC-E from Z. mobilis) were found. The deduced amino acid sequences of hpnC-E showed significant similarity (58-62%) in both bacteria. Similarities to enzymes of other terpenoid biosynthesis pathways (carotenoid and steroid biosynthesis) suggest that these ORFs encode proteins involved in the biosynthesis of hopanoids and their intermediates. Expression of hpnC to hpnE from Z. mobilis as well as expression of hpnC from B. japonicum in Escherichia coli led to the formation of the hopanoid precursor squalene. This indicates that hpnC encodes a squalene synthase. The two additional ORFs (hpnA and hpnB) in Z. mobilis showed similarities to enzymes involved in the transfer and modification of sugars, indicating that they may code for enzymes involved in the biosynthesis of the complex, sugar-containing side chains of hopanoids.

Squalene-hopene cyclase from Bradyrhizobium japonicum: cloning, expression, sequence analysis and comparison to other triterpenoid cyclases

With the help of a PCR-based screening method, the gene encoding squalenehopene cyclase (SHC) of Bradyrhizobium japonicum USDA 110 was isolated from a cosmid library. The SHC catalyses the cyclization of squalene to hopanoids, a class of triterpenoid lipids recently discovered in nitrogen-fixing, root-nodule-forming Bradyrhizobium bacteria. Hybridization experiments showed that the gene is present in bacteria of all Bradyrhizobium strains tested and in photosynthetic bacteria forming stem nodules on tropical legumes of the genus Aeschynomene. The Bradyrhizobium shc gene is 1983 bp in length and encodes a protein of 660 amino acid residues with a calculated molecular mass of 73671 Da. Comparison of the deduced amino acid sequence with the sequences of other SHCs revealed highest similarity (70%) to the SHC from the Gram-negative Zymomonas mobilis and lower similarity (48%) to the SHCs from the Gram-positive Alicyclobacillus acidocaldarius and Alicyclobacillus acidoterrestris. Bradyrhizobium SHC also showed similarity (38-43%) to eukaryotic oxidosqualene cyclases. The B. japonicum shc gene was expressed in Escherichia coli. The recombinant SHC catalysed the cyclization of squalene to the hopanoids hopene and diplopterol in vitro. However, the formation of the gammacerane derivative tetrahymanol, which is produced in addition to hopanoids in B. japonicum strains in vivo, could not be detected in vitro. Therefore, the presence of a second squalene cyclase in B. japonicum can be assumed. Sequence analysis of 0.5 kb upstream from the shc gene identified a partial ORF with significant similarity to the C-terminus of an ORF located immediately upstream from the shc gene in Z. mobilis. Both ORFs also showed similarity to phytoene desaturases from cyanobacteria and plants. The 3'-end of this ORF from B. japonicum overlaps with 13 bp at the 5'-end of shc. The close proximity of this ORF to shc suggests that shc and this ORF may be part of an operon.

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

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.

Host-plant invasion by Rhizobium: the role of cell-surface components

Rhizobia are soil bacteria that can become endosymbionts, reducing atmospheric nitrogen within nodules formed on the roots of legume plants. During tissue and cell invasion, bacterial cell-surface components adapt the bacterium to survive as an endophyte without eliciting host-defence responses. The structures of many of these components have been established recently, allowing their possible roles in invasion to be defined more clearly.

Lipopolysaccharide epitope expression of Rhizobium bacteroids as revealed by in situ immunolabelling of pea root nodule sections

To investigate the in situ expression of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) epitopes on nodule bacteria of Rhizobium leguminosarum, monoclonal antibodies recognizing LPS macromolecules were used for immunocytochemical staining of pea nodule tissue. Many LPS epitopes were constitutively expressed, and the corresponding antibodies reacted in nodule sections with bacteria at all stages of tissue infection and cell invasion. Some antibodies, however, recognized epitopes that were only expressed in particular regions of the nodule. Two general patterns of regulated LPS epitope expression could be distinguished on longitudinal sections of nodules. A radial pattern probably reflected the local physiological conditions experienced by endosymbiotic bacteria as a result of oxygen diffusion into the nodule tissue. The other pattern of expression, which followed a linear axis of symmetry along a longitudinal section of the pea nodule, was apparently associated with the differentiation of nodule bacteria and the development of the nitrogen-fixing capacity in bacteroids. Basically similar patterns of LPS epitope expression were observed for pea nodules harboring either of two immunologically distinct strains of R. leguminosarum bv. viciae, although these epitopes were recognized by different sets of strain-specific monoclonal antibodies. Furthermore, LPS epitope expression of rhizobia in pea nodules was compared with that of equivalent strains in nodules of French bean (Phaseolus vulgaris). From these observations, it is suggested that structural modifications of Rhizobium LPS may play an important role in the adaptation of endosymbiotic rhizobia to the surrounding microenvironment.

Molecular dissection of structure and function in the lipopolysaccharide of Rhizobium leguminosarum strain 3841 using monoclonal antibodies and genetic analysis

Following treatment with nitrosoguanidine, mutant derivatives of Rhizobium leguminosarum strain 3841 were isolated which failed to react with AFRC MAC 203. This monoclonal antibody normally recognizes a strain-specific lipopolysaccharide epitope which is developmentally regulated during legume nodule differentiation. Structural modification of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) was analysed by examining reactivity with a range of monoclonal antibodies with different epitope specificities, and also by analysis of LPS mobility changes after electrophoresis on polyacrylamide gels. One class of these LPS-defective mutants induced normal nitrogen-fixing (Fix+) nodules on peas (Pisum sativum), while another two classes of Fix- mutants were also identified, suggesting that a component of the LPS antigen that is part of the MAC 203 epitope is essential for normal nodule development leading to symbiotic nitrogen fixation. When grown under low-oxygen or low-pH culture conditions, one class of Fix- mutants completely lacked LPS-1 (the species that carries O antigen) and a second class showed a modified and truncated form of LPS-1. Mutants with defective LPS structure were also obtained after Tn5 mutagenesis of R. leguminosarum 3841 and all nine Fix- mutants were also found to lack the MAC 203 epitope. Three of these transposon-induced mutants synthesized a truncated form of LPS-1 that was structurally similar to that of the class of the NTG-induced mutants described above. These transposon-induced mutations, and the nitrosoguanidine-induced Fix- mutations, were closely linked and could be suppressed by the same cloned fragment of chromosomal DNA. The data presented here suggest that a precondition for normal nodule development of R. leguminosarum 3841 within pea nodules is the ability to synthesize relatively long-chain LPS-1 macromolecules under the physiological conditions encountered within the nodule. All mutants that lacked the ability to elongate LPS-1 macromolecules also failed to express the MAC 203 epitope.

Immunochemical analysis of lipopolysaccharides from free-living and endosymbiotic forms of Rhizobium leguminosarum

Rhizobium leguminosarum B556 and 8002 differ only with respect to carrying symbiotic plasmids with specificity for Pisum or Phaseolus hosts, respectively. Protease-treated samples derived from free-living cultures of both strains revealed a ladder of lipopolysaccharide (LPS-1) bands after periodate-silver staining of sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gels. These bands were arranged as doublets. After Western (immuno-) blotting, all LPS-1 bands reacted with monoclonal antibody JIM 21, whereas monoclonal antibody MAC 57 reacted only with the upper (slower-migrating) band and monoclonal antibody MAC 114 reacted only with the lower band of each doublet pair. Preparations obtained from bacteroids of Pisum or Phaseolus nodules showed significant differences in the size distribution and antigenicity of LPS. In bacteroids from Phaseolus sp., JIM 21 and MAC 57 each stained a ladder of LPS-1 bands on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gels which corresponded in mobility to the upper band of each doublet pair seen in free-living cultures. MAC 114 did not react with the LPS from Phaseolus sp.-derived bacteroids. In bacteroids from Pisum sp., only fast-migrating (lower-molecular-weight) forms of LPS-1 could be visualized on gels, but both upper and lower bands of each doublet were still present and could be stained by the appropriate monoclonal antibody, MAC 57 or MAC 114, respectively. Similarly, bacteroids from R. leguminosarum 3841, which nodulates Pisum species, differed with respect to the structure and antigenicity of their LPS-1 from bacteroids of a related strain, B625, which nodulates Phaseolus species. Physiological factors were investigated that could account for these differences between the structures of LPS-1 from free-living cultures of B556 and 8002 and that from bacteroids. The following modifications in growth conditions each tended to reduce the expression of MAC 114 antigen and enhance the expression of MAC 57 antigen: succinate rather than glucose as the carbon source; microaerobic (2.5%, vol/vol) oxygen concentrations; and acidic (pH 5 to 6) culture medium. When all three of these conditions were combined, the LPS-1 that resulted was very similar to that in bacteroids from Pisum nodules. However, it was not possible to reproduce the LPS-1 pattern observed for bacteroids from Phaseolus nodules, which maintained a ladder of LPS bands reacting with MAC 57 antibody.

Developmental regulation of a Rhizobium cell surface antigen during growth of pea root nodules

A monoclonal antibody, AFRC MAC 203, was used to examine the expression of a nodule-induced cell surface antigen associated with lipopolysaccharide in Rhizobium leguminosarum bv. viciae 3841. Silver-enhanced immunogold-labeled tissue sections revealed that, in very young tissues of pea root nodules, the nodule-induced form of lipopolysaccharide antigen was not expressed either by rhizobia in the infection thread or by bacteria recently released into the plant cell cytoplasm. In the more mature regions of the nodule, the antigen was expressed by membrane-enclosed bacteroids, including immature forms that had not yet expressed the enzyme nitrogenase and were not yet Y shaped. Immunogold labeling of thin sections revealed that the MAC 203 antigen, but not the nitrogenase, was also expressed by bacteria in infection threads situated in and between bacteroid-containing plant cells in mature nodule tissue.

Genetic derepression of a developmentally regulated lipopolysaccharide antigen from Rhizobium leguminosarum 3841

Monoclonal antibody AFRC MAC 203 recognizes a developmentally regulated lipopolysaccharide antigen in Rhizobium leguminosarum bv. viciae 3841. Transposon-induced mutants that constitutively expressed MAC 203 antigen were isolated. These strains were morphologically normal, showed no gross abnormalities in lipopolysaccharide size distribution on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gels, and induced normal nitrogen-fixing nodules. However, the mutants lacked lipopolysaccharide epitopes recognized by another rat monoclonal antibody, AFRC MAC 281, suggesting that the corresponding epitopes may be interconverted or share a common precursor. In conjugational crosses, the transposon insertion associated with both the loss of MAC 281 antigen and the constitutive expression of MAC 203 antigen showed linkage to the chromosomal rif allele. A derivative of strain 3841 with a deletion spanning the nod-fix region of the symbiotic plasmid showed no altered expression pattern for MAC 203 antigen, suggesting that the relevant genetic determinants map to genomic sites that are not associated with nifA or any known genes on the symbiotic plasmid.

Expression of a cell surface antigen from Rhizobium leguminosarum 3841 is regulated by oxygen and pH

Rhizobium leguminosarum bv. viciae 3841 was grown in liquid suspension culture to investigate how culture conditions could affect the expression of a developmentally regulated cell surface antigen associated with lipopolysaccharide. The antigen, which is recognized by monoclonal antibody AFRC MAC 203, was expressed when cultures were grown at neutral pH under low-oxygen conditions (less than 7.5% [vol/vol] O2 in the gas phase). Antigen was also expressed in aerobically grown cultures at pH values below 5.3. The nature of the nitrogen and the carbon sources had no effect on antigen expression except by indirect changes on the pH of the culture medium; similarly, growth in 0.3 M NaCl did not result in antigen expression. The induction of MAC 203 antigen by low-oxygen or low-pH culture conditions is discussed in the context of tissue-specific expression within the legume root nodule.