Electrophoretic analysis of the lipopolysaccharides ofBacteroides spp.

Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) extracts of reference strains and isolates ofBacteroides spp. prepared by the proteinase K method were resolved by tricine-sodium-dodecyl-sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and located by silver staining. A considerable diversity of LPS profiles was evident within theBacteroides genus although profiles were essentially species-specific, with some minor interstrain variations apparent among isolates ofB. uniformis, B. ovatus, B. eggerthii andB. thetaiotaomicron. The LPS of most species consisted of a major rough LPS component of 2–5 kDa and a series of higher molecular weight bands which varied with species.B. vulgatus LPS was distinctive in showing an extensive ladder of multiple repeating oligosaccharide units with molecular weights ranging from 4 to >17 kDaB. stercoris LPS included a high molecular weight (>17 kDa) ladder of repeating oligosaccharide units.B. fragilis andB. thetaiotaomicron differed from most other species in producing a short ladder of repeating oligosaccharide units interspersing the rough LPS and a 5.6 kDa (B. fragilis) or 9 kDa (B. thetaiotaomicron) yellow-staining component. The heterogeneity of LPS profiles within theBacteroides genus may reflect the differences in pathogenicity among the species and prove useful for typing.