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Characterization of the Antigenic Lipopolysaccharide O Chain and the Capsular Polysaccharide Produced by Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae Serotype 13

Institute for Biological Sciences, National Research Council, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Received 29 April 2004/ Returned for modification 25 June 2004/ Accepted 1 July 2004

Serotyping of Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae, the etiologic agent of porcine pleuropneumonia, is important for epidemiological studies and for the development of homologous vaccine cell preparations. The serology is based on the specific chemical structures of capsular polysaccharides (CPSs) and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) antigenic O-polysaccharide moieties (O-PSs), and knowledge of these structures is required for a molecular-level understanding of their serological specificities. The structures of A. pleuropneumoniae serotype 1 to 12 CPSs and O-PSs have been elucidated; however, the structures associated with three newly proposed serotypes (serotypes 13, 14, and 15) have not been reported. Herein we described the structures of the antigenic O-PS and CPS of A. pleuropneumoniae serotype 13. The O-PS of the A. pleuropneumoniae serotype 13 LPS is a polymer of branched tetrasaccharide repeating units composed of L-rhamnose, 2-acetamido-2-deoxy-D-galactose, and D-galactose residues (1:1:2). By use of hydrolysis, methylation, and periodate oxidation chemical methods together with the application of one- and two-dimensional ¹H and ¹³C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and mass spectrometry, the structures of the O chain and CPS were determined. The CPS of A. pleuropneumoniae serotype 13 was characterized as a teichoic-acid type polymer. The LPS O antigen was identical to the O-PS produced by A. pleuropneumoniae serotype 7. The CPS has the unique structure of a 1,3-poly(glycerol phosphate) teichoic acid type I polymer and constitutes the macromolecule defining the A. pleuropneumoniae serotype 13 antigenic specificity.

Editor: D. L. Burns