Pathogenic bacteria frequently cloak themselves with a capsular polysaccharide layer. Escherichia coli group 1 capsules are formed from repeat-unit polysaccharides with molecular weights exceeding 100 kDa. The export of such a large polar molecule across the hydrophobic outer membrane in Gram-negative bacteria presents a formidable challenge, given that the permeability barrier of the membrane must be maintained. We describe the 2.26 Å structure of Wza, an integral outer membrane protein, that is essential for capsule export. Wza is an octamer, with a composite molecular weight of 340 kDa, and it forms an "amphora"-like structure. The protein has a large central cavity 100 Å long and 30 Å wide. The transmembrane region is a novel α-helical barrel, and is linked to three additional novel periplasmic domains, marking Wza as the representative of a new class of membrane protein.Although Wza is open to the extracellular environment, a flexible loop in the periplasmic region occludes the cavity and may regulate the opening of the channel. The structure defines the route taken by the capsular polymer as it exits the cell, using the structural data we propose a mechanism for the translocation of the large polar capsular polysaccharide.

The PglB oligosaccharyltransferase (OTase) of Campylobacter jejuni can be functionally expressed in Escherichia coli, and its relaxed oligosaccharide substrate specificity allows the transfer of different glycans from the lipid carrier undecaprenyl pyrophosphate to an acceptor protein. To investigate the substrate specificity of PglB, we tested the transfer of a set of lipid-linked polysaccharides in E. coli and Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium. A hexose linked to the C-6 of the monosaccharide at the reducing end did not inhibit the transfer of the O antigen to the acceptor protein. However, PglB required an acetamido group at the C-2. A model for the mechanism of PglB involving this functional group was proposed. Previous experiments have shown that eukaryotic OTases have the same requirement, suggesting that eukaryotic and prokaryotic OTases catalyze the transfer of oligosaccharides by a conserved mechanism. Moreover, we demonstrated the functional transfer of the C. jejuni glycosylation system into S. enterica. The elucidation of the mechanism of action and the substrate specificity of PglB represents the foundation for engineering glycoproteins that will have an impact on biotechnology.glycoengineering ͉ glycoproteins ͉ LPS ͉ PglB ͉ Stt3p

The chain length of bacterial lipopolysaccharide O antigens is regulated to give a modal distribution that is critical for pathogenesis. This paper describes the process of chain length determination in the ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporter-dependent pathway, a pathway that is widespread among Gram-negative bacteria. Escherichia coli O8 and O9/O9a polymannans are synthesized in the cytoplasm, and an ABC transporter exports the nascent polymer across the inner membrane prior to completion of the LPS molecule. The polymannan O antigens have nonreducing terminal methyl groups. The 3-O-methyl group in serotype O8 is transferred from S-adenosylmethionine by the WbdD O8 enzyme, and this modification terminates polymerization. Methyl groups are added to the O9a polymannan in a reaction dependent on preceding phosphorylation. The bifunctional WbdD O9a catalyzes both reactions, but only the kinase activity controls chain length. Chain termination occurs in a mutant lacking the ABC transporter, indicating that it precedes export. An E. coli wbdD O9a mutant accumulated O9a polymannan in the cytoplasm, indicating that WbdD activity coordinates polymannan chain termination with export across the inner membrane.

The lipopolysaccharide (LPS) molecule is an important virulence determinant in KkebsieUa pneumoniae. Studies on the serotype 01 LPS were initiated to determine the basis for antigenic heterogeneity previously observed in the 01 side chain polysaccharides and to resolve apparent ambiguities in the reported polysaccharide structure. Detailed chemical analysis, involving methylation and 1H-and 13C-nuclear magnetic resonance studies, demonstrated that the 0-side chain polysaccharides of serotype 01 LPS contained a mixture of two structurally distinct D-galactan polymers. The repeating unit structures of these two polymers were(D-Galactan II). D-Galactan I polysaccharides were heterogeneous in size and were detected throughout the sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) profile of 01 LPS. In contrast, D-galactan II was confined to the higher-molecular-weight region. The structures of the two D-galactans were not influenced by simultaneous synthesis of a capsular K antigen. Apparently, neither of the D-galactans constitutes a common antigen widespread in Kkebsiella spp. as determined by immunochemical analysis. Examination of the LPSs in mutants indicated that expression of D-galactan I can occur independently of D-galactan II. Transconjugants of Escherichia coUi K-12 strains carrying the his region of K. pneumoniae were constructed by chromosome mobilization with RP4::mini-Mu. In these transconjugants, the 0 antigen encoded by the his-linked rjb locus was determined to be D-galactan I, suggesting that genes involved in the expression of D-galactan II are not closely linked to the rjb cluster.

Capsular polysaccharides (CPSs) are essential virulence determinants of many pathogenic bacteria. Escherichia coli group 1 CPSs provide paradigms for widespread surface polysaccharide assembly systems in Gram-negative bacteria. In these systems, complex carbohydrate polymers must be exported across the periplasm and outer membrane to the cell surface. Group 1 CPS export requires oligomers of the outer membrane protein, Wza, for translocation across the outer membrane. Assembly also depends on Wzc, an inner membrane tyrosine autokinase known to regulate export and synthesis of group 1 CPS. Here, we provide a structural view of a complex comprising Wzc and Wza that spans the periplasm, connecting the inner and outer membranes. Examination of transmembrane sections of the complex suggests that the periplasm is compressed at the site of complex formation. An important feature of CPS production is the coupling of steps involved in biosynthesis and export. We propose that the Wza-Wzc complex provides the structural and regulatory core of a larger macromolecular machine. We suggest a mechanism by which CPS may move from the periplasm through the outer membrane.bacteria ͉ capsule ͉ export ͉ membrane